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Dr Cecilia Tomori, PhD, MA

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(email at cecilia.tomori@durham.ac.uk)

Cecilia Tomori studied biology and education at Swarthmore College and obtained her PhD in Anthropology (with a focus on sociocultural and medical anthropology) from the University of Michigan in 2011. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in public health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health before joining the faculty there in 2013. Dr. Tomori was appointed Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Durham in 2017. She is an interdisciplinary scholar with interests across multiple areas of anthropology as well as history, public health and women’s studies. Her main research addresses the dynamic intersection of social and biological aspects of breastfeeding and family sleep arrangements.

Research Groups

Department of Anthropology

• Anthropology of Health

Research Interests

• Biocultural aspects of breastfeeding and sleep
• Social and historical aspects of childbirth and infant care
• Kinship
• Personhood
• Reproduction
• Political economy and health inequities

Indicators of Esteem

• 2017: Invited speaker : “Breastfeeding and Infant Sleep: An Integrated Anthropological and Public Health Approach.” Webinar presentation for the Family Spirit Program, Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University.
• 2017: Invited speaker : “Contested Moralities: Breastfeeding Stigma in a Cross-Cultural Perspective”, “The Power of Culture in Breastsleeping,”“Anthropological Engagement in Human Lactation More Broadly”Back and Forward to the Future: Introducing Revolutionary Insights into Breastmilk and Breastsleeping, Biology, Culture and Behavior. SWAG Conference, Berkeley, CA.
• 2017: Invited speaker : “The Cultural Challenges of Nighttime Breastfeeding.” Webinar presentation, iLactation Online Breastfeeding Conference.
• 2017: Invited speaker :

  “Resolving cultural conflicts in nighttime breastfeeding and infant sleep.” Webinar presentation, GOLD Lactation Online Conference.

• 2017: Invited speaker : “Breastfeeding Controversies: Cultural Ideals and Everyday Realities.”Webinar presentation, International Lactation Consultant Association.
• 2016: Invited speaker : “Breastfeeding and Safe Sleep.”Sankofa Breastfeeding Coalition Meeting withReaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) Atlanta, Georgia.
• 2016: Invited speaker :

  “The Challenges of Nighttime Breastfeeding: Biocultural Approaches.” Webinar presentation the International Lactation Consultant Association.

• 2016: Invited speaker :

  “Safe Sleep: What’s Breastfeeding Got to Do with It?” Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) Alabama Breastfeeding Summit, Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama.

• 2015: Invited speaker :

  “Changing Cultures of Nighttime Breastfeeding in the U.S.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health, Nutrition Group, Baltimore, MD.

• 2015: Invited speaker :

  “Changing Cultures of Nighttime Breastfeeding in the U.S.” Economic and Social Research Council’s Seminar Series on the “Social experiences of breastfeeding: building bridges between research and policy,” University of the West of England, Bristol, U.K.

Selected Publications

Authored book

• Tomori, Cecilia (2014). Nighttime Breastfeeding: An American Cultural Dilemma. Berghahn Books.

Chapter in book

• Tomori, Cecilia (Forthcoming). Changing Cultures of Nighttime Breastfeeding and Sleep in the U.S. In Social experiences of breastfeeding: building bridges between research, policy and practice. Dowling, Sally, Boyer, Kate & Pontin, David Policy Press.
• Tomori, Cecilia (2018). Breastsleeping in four cultures: Comparative analysis of a biocultural body technique. In Breastfeeding: New Anthropological Approaches. Tomori, Cecilia, Palmquist, Aunchalee E.L. & Quinn, EA Routledge.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Palmquist, Aunchalee E.L. & Quinn, EA (2018). Introduction: Towards New Anthropologies of Breastfeeding. In Breastfeeding: New Anthropological Approaches. Tomori, Cecilia, Palmquist, Aunchalee E.L. & Quinn, EA Routledge.
• Tomori, Cecilia (2017). The Inequities of Nighttime Breastfeeding. In Breastfeeding, Social Justice, and Equity. Smith, Paige Hall, Labbok, Miriam & Chambers, Brittany Praeclarus Press. 231-238.
• Tomori, Cecilia (2015). The Challenges of Nighttime Breastfeeding in the U.S. In It Takes a Village: The Role of the Greater Community in Inspiring and Empowering Women to Breastfeed. Smith, Paige Hall & Labbok, Miriam Amarillo, Texas: Praeclarus Press. 117-122.

Edited book

• Tomori, Cecilia, Palmquist, Aunchalee E.L. & Quinn, EA (2018). Breastfeeding: New Anthropological Approaches. Routledge.

Journal Article

• Tomori, Cecilia, Srikrishnan, Aylur K., Mehta, Shruti H., Nimmagadda, Nymisha, Anand, Santhanam, Vasudevan, Canjeevaram K., Celentano, David D. & Solomon, Sunil S. (2018). HIV risks among women who are married to men who have sex with men in India: a qualitative investigation. Culture, Health & Sexuality 20(8): 873-887.
• Tomori, Cecilia, McFall, Allison M., Solomon, Sunil S., Srikrishnan, Aylur K., Anand, Santhanam, Balakrishnan, P., Mehta, Shruti H. & Celentano, David D. (2018). Is there synergy in syndemics? Psychosocial conditions and sexual risk among men who have sex with men in India. Social Science & Medicine 206: 110-116.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Palmquist, Aunchalee E.L. & Dowling, Sally (2016). Contested moral landscapes: Negotiating breastfeeding stigma in breastmilk sharing, nighttime breastfeeding, and long-term breastfeeding in the U.S. and the U.K. Social Science & Medicine 168: 178-185.
• Tomori, Cecilia, McFall, Allison M., Srikrishnan, Aylur K., Mehta, Shruti H., Solomon, Sunil S., Anand, Santhanam, Vasudevan, Canjeevaram K., Solomon, Suniti & Celentano, David D. (2016). Diverse Rates of Depression Among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) Across India: Insights from a Multi-site Mixed Method Study. AIDS and Behavior 20(2): 304-316.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Srikrishnan, Aylur K., Ridgeway, Kathleen, Solomon, Sunil S., Mehta, Shruti H., Solomon, Suniti & Celentano, David D. (2016). Friends, Sisters, and Wives: Social Support and Social Risks in Peer Relationships Among Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) in India. AIDS Education and Prevention 28(2): 153-164.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Srikrishnan, Aylur K., Ridgeway, Kathleen, Solomon, Sunil S., Mehta, Shruti H., Solomon, Suniti & Celentano, David D. (2016). Perspectives on Sexual Identity Formation, Identity Practices, and Identity Transitions Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in India. Archives of Sexual Behavior
• Tomori, Cecilia, McFall, Allison M., Srikrishnan, Aylur K., Mehta, Shruti H., Nimmagadda, Nymisha, Anand, Santhanam, Vasudevan, Canjeevaram K., Solomon, Suniti, Solomon, Sunil S. & Celentano, David D. (2016). The prevalence and impact of childhood sexual abuse on HIV-risk behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in India. BMC Public Health 16(1): 784.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Go, Vivian F., Tuan, Le Nhan, Huong, Nguyen Mai, Binh, Nguyen Thanh, Zelaya, Carla E., Celentano, David D., Dat, Do Tuan & Quan, Vu Minh (2014). “In their perception we are addicts” Social vulnerabilities and sources of support for men released from drug treatment centers in Vietnam. International Journal of Drug Policy 25(5): 897-904.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Risher, Kathryn, Limaye, Rupali J., Van Lith, Lynn M., Gibbs, Susannah, Smelyanskaya, Marina & Celentano, David D. (2014). A Role for Health Communication in the Continuum of HIV Care, Treatment, and Prevention. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 66(Supplement 3): S306-S310.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Kennedy, Caitlin E., Brahmbhatt, Heena, Wagman, Jennifer A., Mbwambo, Jessie K., Likindikoki, Samuel & Kerrigan, Deanna L. (2014). Barriers and facilitators of retention in HIV care and treatment services in Iringa, Tanzania: the importance of socioeconomic and sociocultural factors. AIDS Care 26(7): 907-913.
• Guo, Nan, Bindt, Carola, Te Bonle, Marguerite, Appiah-Poku, John, Tomori, Cecilia, Hinz, Rebecca, Barthel, Dana, Schoppen, Stefanie, Feldt, Torsten, Barkmann, Claus, Koffi, Mathurin, Loag, Wibke, Nguah, Samuel Blay, Eberhardt, Kirsten A, Tagbor, Harry, Bass, Judith K, N’Goran, Eliezer & Ehrhardt, Stephan (2014). Mental health related determinants of parenting stress among urban mothers of young children – results from a birth-cohort study in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. BMC Psychiatry 14(1): 156.
• Tomori, Cecilia, Francisco, Leilani V., Kennedy, Caitlin E., Kajula-Maonga, Lusajo, Likindikoki, Samuel, Babalola, Stella O., Beckham, Sarah W., Mbwambo, Jessie K. & Kerrigan, Deanna L. (2013). The changing cultural and economic dynamics of polygyny and concurrent sexual partnerships in Iringa, Tanzania. Global Public Health 8(7): 857-870.
• Tomori, Cecilia (2009). Breastfeeding as Men’s “Kin Work” in the United States. Phoebe: Gender and Cultural Critiques 21(2): 31-44.
• Bennett, Charles L., Somerfield, Mark R., Pfister, David G., Tomori, Cecilia, Yakren, Sofia & Bach, Peter B. (2003). Perspectives on the Value of American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Guidelines as Reported by Oncologists and Health Maintenance Organizations. Journal of Clinical Oncology 21(5): 937-941.
• Weinberg, Peter D., Hounshell, Jennie, Sherman, Laurence A., Godwin, John, Ali, Shirin, Tomori, Cecilia & Bennett, Charles L. (2002). Legal, Financial, and Public Health Consequences of HIV Contamination of Blood and Blood Products in the 1980s and 1990s. Annals of Internal Medicine 136(4): 312.
• Lindau ST, Tomori C, Lyons T, Langseth L, Bennett CL & Garcia P (2002). The association of health literacy with cervical cancer prevention knowledge and health behaviors in a multiethnic cohort of women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 186(5): 938–43.
• Hounshell, J. (2001). Changes in Finances, Insurance, Employment, and Lifestyle Among Persons Diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia. The Oncologist 6(5): 435.
• Kim, Simon P., Knight, Sara J., Tomori, Cecilia, Colella, Kathleen M., Schoor, Richard A., Shih, Linda, Kuzel, Timothy M., Nadler, Robert B. & Bennett, Charles L. (2001). Health Literacy and Shared Decision Making for Prostate Cancer Patients with Low Socioeconomic Status. Cancer Investigation 19(7): 684.
• Lindau, Stacy T., Tomori, C., McCarville, M. A. & Bennett, C. L. (2001). Improving Rates of Cervical Cancer Screening and Pap Smear Follow-Up for Low-Income Women with Limited Health Literacy. Cancer Investigation 19(3): 316.
• Davis, Terry C., Dolan, Nancy C., Ferreira, M. Rosario, Tomori, Cecilia, Green, Kristen W., Sipler, Alison M. & Bennett, Charles L. (2001). The Role of Inadequate Health Literacy Skills in Colorectal Cancer Screening. Cancer Investigation 19(2): 193.
• Fitzner, Karen A, Coughlin, Sheryl, Tomori, Cecilia & Bennett, Charles L (2000). Erratum to ‘Health care in Hong Kong and mainland China: one country, two systems?’. Health Policy 54(2): 161.
• Fitzner, Karen A., Coughlin, Sheryl, Tomori, Cecilia & Bennett, Charles L. (2000). Health care in Hong Kong and mainland China: one country, two systems?. Health Policy 53(3): 147.
• Knox, K. S., Adams, J. R., Djulbegovic, B., Stinson, T. J., Tomori, C. & Bennett, C. L. (2000). Reporting and dissemination of industry versus non-profit sponsored economic analyses of six novel drugs used in oncology*. Annals of Oncology 11(12): 1591.

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Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

• Infant and child health: Breastfeeding, Parent-Infant Sleep

Supervises

• Ms Abby King