Chao Long

Graduate Student Research Funding | 2017 - 2018 Academic Year

An Anthropological Exploration of Skin Donation in Kathmandu, Nepal

Burns are the second most common injury in Nepal, and burn-related mortality is high due to uncontrolled wound infections. Real Skin, Nepal’s first skin bank, is an affordable solution. Skin banking involves harvesting, processing, and storing skin from deceased donors that can be used to graft burn victims. Real Skin however has been crippled by lack of donors despite ongoing educational efforts. Because skin donation in the context of the Kathmandu milieu is poorly understood, Long will employ an ethnographic and grounded theory approach to explore how sociocultural, religious, and economic factors shape the perception and conceptualization of skin donation.

Chao Long, School of Medicine

Chao Long is an MD candidate at Stanford University with interests in plastic and reconstructive surgery. She graduated from Princeton University with a BA degree in anthropology. She has several research interests including tendon tissue engineering, clinical outcomes research, and global surgery. She has received several grants and awards to support her research, and has published her findings in numerous publications. Her research now delves into the intersection of plastic surgery and global health, specifically in the arena of acute burn care.

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