Biography
Gemmae M. Fix, PhD is an applied medical anthropologist with postdoctoral training in health services research. She currently serves as the Acting Associate Director at the Center for Health Optimization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), a VA Health Services Research Center of Innovation, co-located at the Boston and Bedford VA Medical Centers. Dr. Fix’s research uses ethnographic, qualitative methods to advance the delivery of patient-centered care, particularly for populations stigmatized for their behaviors, such as people living with HIV or those at risk for lung cancer. She has led AHRQ, VA and DoD funded studies examining patients’ experiences of care, patient-centered HIV care, and the use of co-design methods to engage patients in the research process.
Additionally, Dr. Fix is interested in the professional development of social scientists. She has written extensively about the careers of anthropologists, including two guest edited volumes of Practicing Anthropology, profiling the work of anthropologists working in health-related settings. She led the formation of the Medical Anthropologists and Social Scientists in Health (MASSH) interest group which brings together anthropologists and allied social scientists working in applied health settings (hospitals, health departments, companies, community-based organizations, and universities) to promote professional development, research collaboration, and educational opportunities. Further, she has developed and taught qualitative methods courses for health professionals, including pragmatic ethnography. Dr. Fix is a Fellow of the Academy of Communication in Healthcare as well as the Society for Applied Anthropology. She was elected to the Board of the Society for Applied Anthropology where she served as Secretary (2022-2025). In these roles, she advances use of social science approaches to address healthcare research questions.