Dr. Georgia Samaras

• Wissenschaft- und Technikforschung (STS)
• Qualitative Methoden der Sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung
• Anthropologie und Epistemologie der Lebenswissenschaften
• Psychische Gesundheit & Biopolitik
• Politiken der traumainformierten Versorgung 

• Family Life in Bavaria – Empirical Insights into Transformations, Resources, and Negotiations (ForFamily), Subproject: Early-Life Adversity, Epigenetics, and Parenthood: New Familial Responsibilities?, 2024-2027
• Situating Environmental Epigenetics. A Comparative, Actor-Centered Study of Environmental Epigenetics as an Emergent Research Approach in Three Research Fields, 2018-2021 

     Journal articles // Zeitschriftenaufsätze 

• Samaras, G. & Müller, R. (2025). What’s it got to do with the Brain? Mobilising and Doing Clinical Relevance in Epigenetic Psychiatric Research. Minerva. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-025-09575-1
• Bernhardt, K., Le Beherec, S., Uppendahl, J. R., Fleischmann, M., Klosinski, M., Rivera, L. M., ... & Hahnefeld, A. (2024). Young children’s development after forced displacement: a systematic review. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 18(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00711-5
• Müller, Ruth & Samaras, Georgia (2018): “Epigenetics and Aging Research. Between Adult Malleability and Early Life Programming.” BioSocieties,1-22. 

• Müller, Ruth/ Hanson, Claire/ Hanson, Mark/ Penkler, Michael/ Samaras, Georgia et al. (2107): “The Biosocial Genome? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Environmental Epigenetics, Health and Society.” EMBO reports, 18(10), 1677-82. 

  Monograph // Monographie  
  Samaras, G. (2020). Re-Enacting Stress in the Lab.: On Environmental Epigenetics, Social Adversity and the Molecularisation of Mental Health (Doctoral dissertation, Technische Universität München). 

  Edited volumes and handbooks // Handbuchkapitel und Sammelbandbeiträge 
  Rossmann, S., & Samaras, G. (2024). Doing Environments in DOHaD and Epigenetics. In The Handbook of DOHaD and Society (pp. 249-257). Cambridge University Press. 

• Samaras, Georgia (2019): „Care Revisited. Behandeln und Begutachten als Spannungsfeld in der psychiatrischen Praxis mit Flüchtlingen.“ In: Binder, Beate et al. (ed.) Care: Praktiken und Politiken der Fürsorge: Ethnographische und geschlechtertheoretische Perspektiven. Opladen, Berlin & Toronto: Verlag Barbara Budrich, 279-92. 

• Samaras, G. et al./Forschungskollektiv Psychiatrische Praxen (2014): „Psychiatrische Behandlung als vielfältige Praxis.“ In: Bister, Milena D. & Niewöhner, Jörg (Hrsg.): Alltag in der Psychiatrie im Wandel. Ethnographische Perspektiven auf Wissen, Technologie und Autonomie. Berliner Blätter. Berlin: Panama Verlag, Bd.66 / 2014, 22-97. 

  Reviews // Rezensionen 

• Samaras, G. (2024). Lisa Krall, Epigenetik als Intra-aktion: Diffraktives Lesen umweltepigenetischer Studien mit Karen Barads agentiellem Realismus. Bielefeld: transcript 2022. 

B.Sc.-Level 

• Lebenswissenschaften & Gesellschaft. Eine Einführung TUM School of Life Sciences, 2015 & 2017; introductory course on ethical, social and political dimensions of the life sciences.  

M.A.- & M.Sc.-Level 

Department STS 

• Einführung in die Gesundheitssoziologie, Seminar, TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Chair of Sociology for Science and Technology, since winter 2024; introductory course on biopolitics, risk and (bio)medicalisation for vocational education students.
• Biomedicine, Health & Society: Between Empowerment & Control, Seminar (Core Topic), TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, summer 2024; introductory course on social and political dimensions of modern biomedicine.
• Making a Mess with Methods I, Seminar, TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, since winter 2019; introductory course on qualitative social science methods and epistemology.
• Making a Mess with Methods II, Seminar, TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, since summer 2022; project-based course on conducting a social science research project (including writing a research proposal).
• Practicing Research in STS (RESET), Seminar, TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, irregularly since winter 2022; project-based course on planning a social science research project.
• STS-STEM Mentorship: Biotechnology, Health, Ecology, TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, summer 2022; mentor-based course to promote reflective and critical thinking on issues of responsibility in relation to STEM concepts and practices.
• Between Empowerment & Control: Unpacking Biomedical Approaches Towards Life, Seminar (Core Topic), TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, summer 2021; introductory course on social and political dimensions of modern biomedicine.
• Lecture Series: Current Research at the Department STS, Ring Lecture, TUM, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, irregularly since winter 2021. 

Export Teaching 

• Who is Responsible for Environment and Health? Social and Cultural Perspective on Food, Health, and Technology, Ring Seminar, TUM, School of Management, since summer 2018; introductory course on different STS case studies.
• FP Herausforderungen der Biomedizin. Soziale, politische und ethische Dimensionen der medizinischen Biologie, Research Project, TUM, School of Life Sciences, summer 2018 & summer 2020; research project on a case chosen by the students.
• Herausforderungen der Biomedizin. Soziale, politische und ethische Dimensionen der medizinischen Biologie, Seminar, TUM, School of Life Sciences, 2018, 2020; introductory course on the social, political, and ethical dimensions of modern biomedicine.
• Qualitatives Forschen/Interviewtechniken: Expert:inneninterviews, Fokusgruppen, Auswertungsmethoden (with Dr. Michael Penkler), Seminar, MCTS, TUM, 2017; introductory course on qualitative interviewing.
• Guest Discussant @Life & Science, Seminar, TUM School of Medicine and Health, since 2022 (seminar lead: Moritz Schumm).
• Invited guest lecture “Environmental Epigenetics and Mental Health Research: How do Scientists Study Stress in the Lab?” in “Public engagement in science, technology, and environment”, Seminar, LMU, Chair of Life Sciences in Society, Prof. Michael John Gorman and Dr. Mascha Gugganig, winter 23/24. 

Workshops 

• Einführung in qualitative Forschungsmethoden & Interviewtechniken (with Petra Beck), Workshop for the TUM Junge Akademie, Feldafing, 17.06.2016
• Modul Scientific Skills (with Petra Beck), Workshop für the TUM Junge Akademie „Zukunftswerkstatt“, Markt Indersdorf, 01.10.2016 

→ Aktuelle Lehrangebote

Gutachterin für internationale Fachzeitschriften wie Cambridge Forum on AI: Culture and Society, Frontiers, Science as Culture, Social Studies of Science

• A Media Analysis of the Biosocial Embodiment of Early-Life Adversity and Stress in Germany, STS Italia Milano, 12 June 2025 (with Mary Jones & Ruth Müller). 

• Early Life Adversity, Epigenetics, and Parenthood: New Familial Responsibilities?, STS Hub Berlin, 11 March 2025 (with Mary Jones & Ruth Müller). 

• What’s it Got to Do With the Brain? Challenges in Mobilising and Doing Clinical Relevance in Epigenetic Research on Mental Health, Robert Merton Zentrum für Wissenschaftsforschung Jour Fixe, Berlin, 11 December 2024. 

• What’s it Got to Do With the Brain? Challenges in Mobilising and Doing Clinical Relevance in Epigenetic Research on Mental Health, EASST/4S Joint Meeting, Amsterdam, 18 July 2024 (with Ruth Müller).  

• Epigenetics in Mental Health Research: Emerging Cultures of Collaboration and the Politics of Demarcation, EAAST Conference, Madrid, 06 July 2022 (with Ruth Müller). 

• Interdisciplinary Research in DOHaD: Past, Present, & Future Directions of Biosocial Collaboration (virtual roundtable), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 26 November 2021. 

• “There are Thousands of Ways that the Brain Can Go Awry“ – How Epigeneticists Re-Enact Stress and Trauma in the Lab, 4S Annual Meeting, Toronto, 09 October 2021. 

• The Social Life of Trauma Biology (Input on Trauma, Epigenetics & Mental Health), International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology Meeting, 14 July 2021. 

• Situating environmental epigenetics in brain research, Institute for Neuroscience of the Department of Health Science and Technology at ETH Zurich, 12 October 2020. 

• The Molecularisation of Social Adversity. Enacting the Epigenetics of Mental Illness in a Psychiatric Research Laboratory, Laboratory: Anthropology of Environment | Human Relations, Berlin, 13 January 2020. 

• Situating Environmental Epigenetics: Tracing Field‐Specific Configuration of Environmental Epigenetics in Three Biomedical Research Fields. 4S Annual Meeting, New Orleans, 04 September 2019 (with Ruth Müller, Michael Penkler and Sophia Rossmann). 

• Environmental Epigenetics and Mental Health Research: Enacting Trauma in the Lab. EASST Conference, Lancaster (Juli 2018). 

• The Plasticity of Epigenetics: An Ethnography of the Enactment of Epigenetic Perspectives in a Psychiatric Research Laboratory. Society for the Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting, Boston, 01 September 2017. 

• Illness and Asylum Policy: Care in a Berlin Psychiatric Clinic. EASST Conference, Barcelona (September 2016). 

• Psychologische Gutachten, Aufenthaltsrecht und Care: Behandeln und Begutachten als Spannungsfeld in der psychologischen Fürsorge für Migrant*innen mit ungeklärtem Aufenthaltsstatus.  Arbeitstagung der Kommission Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung in der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Volkskunde (dgv), Hamburg (Februar 2016). 

• European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST)
• Society for Social Studies of Science (4S)