Janelle Lamoreaux, PhD

Janelle Lamoreaux, PhD, is a sociocultural anthropologist specializing in the anthropology of science and technology, with a focus on reproduction, gender and the environment. In 2023 she published her book Infertile Futures: Epigenetic Environments in a Toxic China, an ethnographic study of epigenetic research on male infertility. In this work, she examines how multiple environments of toxic exposure are constructed at various scales through the scientific practices of reproductive toxicologists, who both investigate and produce the toxic environments they study. The project explores how epigenetic toxicological research connects economic, industrial and human development, analyzing the role of toxins in shaping scientific and reproductive futures.

Dr. Lamoreaux has also engaged in two related research projects. The first, a collaborative effort with Katharine Dow from the University of Cambridge, explores the theme Reproducing the Environment. This research examines how reproductive technologies (broadly defined) are used to address environmental challenges and investigates why environmental issues are often framed through reproduction and future generations. Following a 2016 workshop at the University of Cambridge, sponsored by the Reproductive Sociology Research Group and the Centre for Research on the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH), this collaboration resulted in an article and a podcast on the topic.

Dr. Lamoreaux’s second research project continues to explore the intersection of reproductive and environmental health, focusing on the use of reproductive technologies in coral conservation programs. Similar to efforts in preserving other endangered species, coral gametes are being cryopreserved to enable future restoration. This study examines how environmental and reproductive challenges often transcend political, national and gender boundaries, particularly in the case of coral, which defies traditional male/female classifications and inhabits disputed waters such as the South China Sea. This project considers how cryoconservation fits within a broader history of reproductive technologies offering biotechnological solutions to complex social and environmental problems. As part of the initial stages of this work, she presented at an Executive Session of the 2017 American Anthropological Association (AAA) Meeting in Washington, DC, titled How Anthropology Matters in the Anthropocene: Understanding the Cultures and Politics of Climate Change Denial, where she delivered a paper entitled “Banking on Denial.”

In addition to her research, Dr. Lamoreaux is a co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Genomics, Health and Society, along with Sahra Gibbon, Barbara Prainsack and Stephen Hilgartner. This volume provides an overview of both classic and emerging topics in the social studies of genomics. Her contributions include organizing the section “Crossing Boundaries,” which features scholars such as Margaret Lock, Amber Benezra and Carrie Friese, as well as authoring a chapter titled “Gendered Bioeconomies.”