Priscilla Song, who studies China’s urban medical system, recently traveled to the Lion Grove Garden in Suzhou, China, a retreat for Buddhist scholars built in 1342. The limestone rocks are piled in the shape of grotesque lions, and the twisting paths are a Buddhist metaphor for life’s journey.

I have conducted ethnographic research in urban China since 2004, examining how the emergence of experimental biomedicine has transformed the lives of patients and healers. I am revising my first book manuscript, which situates the rise of transnational health seeking within the politico-economic transformations of the Chinese health care system. As the emphasis on preventive care during Mao’s era of collectivization has given way to a market-driven pursuit of high-tech interventions and financial gain, ambitious health care professionals are transforming China’s urban medical system into a laboratory for entrepreneurial tactics. In an uncertain environment where restructured government priorities have left former state-employed doctors to fend for themselves, ambitious health care professionals are pushing the limits of medical practice as they experiment with radically new and potentially dangerous ways to meet the bottom line. At the same time, Internet health forums have fostered a new social movement of patients, families, and researchers who cross national borders to pursue these experimental therapies. My book tracks how neurosurgeons in Beijing have developed stem cell therapies for foreign patients suffering from spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). By foregrounding what is at stake for Chinese neurosurgeons and their patients from around the world, my research illuminates the formative processes driving the stratification of health care during a time of profound change in China.

In addition to revising my book manuscript, I am developing the concept of biotech pilgrimage for a special journal issue on “Patients without Borders.” My goal is to dislodge popular media notions of medical tourism in order to explore how faith intertwines with technology and travel as patients and doctors push the boundaries of conventional medical treatment in pursuit of therapeutic miracles. I have also conducted research on popular religion in Taiwan, infertility and assisted reproductive technologies in Beijing, stem cell laboratory practices in Boston, and radiation oncology in Cleveland.

A Chinese neurosurgeon and nurse teach English and Spanish caregivers how to wrap dumplings for the spring festival celebration.

Before coming to St. Louis, I taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Yale University, New School University, and Peking University’s Health Sciences Campus on sociocultural anthropology, medical anthropology, science and technology studies, bioethics, and East Asian studies. During my first year at Washington University, I will be teaching a seminar titled Cultures of Science and Technology, and a survey course on modern Chinese culture and society. I’m thrilled to join the department, and look forward to meeting everyone and learning more about your interests.