Assistant Professor at VU Amsterdam

Visual and medical anthropologist at VU Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam

Co-Director of the Wellbeing @ Work lab at VU Amsterdam

Dr. Lianne (A.L.) Cremers is an anthropologist whose research bridges visual and medical anthropology with crisis governance, focusing on the impact of health crises on vulnerable populations. She is a tenure-track assistant professor at VU Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam.

Current projects

Her current research includes BASICS for Resilience, where she examines organizational healing in nursing homes post-COVID-19, introducing the concept of trauma distillation to study recovery from slow-burning crises. In her NAVIGATE-HIV project, she examines how healthcare workers in a Surinamese hospital navigate the ways in which people stigmatize HIV, analyzing how their perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours affect care provision across organizational levels.

Previous projects

Previously, as part of the HORIZON2020 HERoS project, Cremers led research on the complexity of COVID-19 crisis responses in European schools and nursing homes, advancing understanding of organizational trauma, resilience and participatory governance. Her PhD research focused on how patients navigated national tuberculosis programs and experienced disease and care in sub-Saharan Africa (Gabon, Zambia, South Africa). She closely worked together with the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, creating the ethnographic film ‘TB in Town 2’ and contributing to their international Stigma Working Group. She has also conducted research for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on community engagement in health crisis preparedness, with her technical reports widely circulated among policymakers.

Participatory and creative methods

Departing from a participatory action research approach, she co-creates her studies together with her research respondents. This approach employs innovative methods, such as visual ethnography, arts-based methods and photovoice, empowering respondents to visually document their experiences with health crisis.

Committed to interdisciplinary scholarship, Dr. Cremers co-directed Tigist, an award-winning documentary that influenced global NGO strategies and WHO discussions on neglected tropical diseases. Her research outputs span academic and creative media, including co-produced datasets, four ethnographic films, and art exhibitions. She has published in high-impact journals such as The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Social Science & Medicine, and The International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

Grants & awards

Recognized for her contributions, Dr. Cremers has received prestigious grants and awards, including the Dutch Research Council (NWA) grant, a Dutch government Starter Grant, and the KNAW Early Career Award. Her work continues to inform academics, policymakers and stakeholders at multiple levels, shaping discourse on crisis governance, societal resilience, and the wellbeing of affected communities.

No ancillary activities

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