Mark R. Luborsky

Mark R. Luborsky

As an anthropologist I am curious about continuity and change over time in the lives of individuals and groups, and particularly how some people function well when faced with adversities, and others do not. I seek answers to these questions by conducting small and large scale basic, applied, and some intervention research and resulting publications contribute new knowledge, conceptual frameworks, and advanced methods. Topics of my studies focus on life course transitions, social determinates of incidence, inequalities, and long term outcomes of health problems from infectious and chronic disease, and environmental toxins.  In 2022, Luborsky was elected to the WSU Academy of Scholars - the highest recognition that can be bestowed upon WSU faculty members by their peers

• 1987-1997: Senior Scientist/Assistant. Director Research, Polisher Research Institute, Philadelphia Geriatric Center, Assoc. Professor, Dept Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Temple Univ. School Medicine
• 1997-2000: Director of Research, Associate Professor, Dept. Occupational Therapy, Wayne State University
• 2000-present: Director of Aging and Health Disparities Research, Institute of Gerontology,
• 2000-present: Professor of Anthropology, Professor of Gerontology, Wayne State University
• 2001-2012: Co-Director/Founder, Post-Doctoral Training, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm Sweden
• 2011-current: Foreign Professor in Gerontology & Senior Researcher in Health Care Sciences, Dept of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
• 2014-2015: Co-Curator, “Follow the Lines: Industrial Legacy, Health, Fishing the Detroit River,” Harm Reduction Community-based Intervention for Environmental Toxic Industrial Chemicals

Scientific review experience and professional activities (selected recent)

• Editor-in-Chief, Medical Anthropology Quarterly: International Journal for Analysis of Health. 2006-2013
• Scientific Review Committee Member. NIH Study Section member: 2005-2014 Community Influences on Health Behavior (CIHB); 1994-98 Human Development & Aging (HUD-2); 1995-2008 Centers for Disease Control; 1995-96 NIMH, Chair SEPs; 1996-2001 NIDRR; 1998 NSF.
• Data and Safety Monitoring Board member, NIH/NIAM, International clinical trial, “Hip Fracture Evaluation Alternatives of Total Hip vs. Hemi-arthroplasty” KAI/IAMS. Thomas Einhorn, PI. 2009 to present.
• Institutional Review Board (HIC/IRB). Member, past Vice Chair, Wayne State University. 1998 - 2012
• National Advisory Board, Advanced Center for Intervention Services Research (ACISR) – Depression and Medical Care. University of Pennsylvania – NIMH. 2004-2009
• Editorial Boards: Anthropology & Aging Quarterly; J. Cross-Cultural Gerontology; J. Ethnicity & Aging; Medical Anthropology Quarterly; The Gerontologist; University Press of Virginia; Berghahn Press.
• President, Association for Anthropology and Gerontology, 1991-1992.
• Invited Panelist, University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics - Greenwall Foundation, 1996-1999.
• Invited Panel Chair, NIH Consensus conference, "Towards Higher Levels of Analyses: Progress & Promise in Research on Social Cultural Dimensions of Health,” NIH agenda on social consequences of illness, 2000
• Director Research committee, Steering Committee member State of Michigan joint commission to develop integrated multilevel statewide system for low vision rehabilitation and treatment services, 2001-2004

Research interest(s)/area of expertise

• Social anthropology
• Lifecourse, development and aging theory and methods
• Chronic and infectious disease, health and healing
• Narrative, life history
• Ethnographic and mixed methods
• Multidisciplinary research
• Mentoring

Education

• B.A. with Honors in Anthropology/Social Psychology, Hobart College, Geneva, NY, 1974
• Ph.D. in Social Anthropology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 1985

Awards and grants

• 2000: President's Outstanding Service Award for Minority Health & AIDS Advocacy
• 2005: Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award, Wayne State University
• 2008: Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award, Wayne State University
• 2008: Invited Faculty Mentor, Academia Sinica, National Science Council of China, Taiwan
• 2013: Invited Keynote, National Science Council of China, Kunming
• 2015: Visiting Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
• 2009-present: Data and Safety Monitoring Board member, NIH/NIAM, national clinical trial, “Hip Fracture Evaluation Alternatives of Total Hip vs. Hemi-arthroplasty” KAI/IAMS (five member panel)

Selected publications

Recent peer reviewed articles

• Nevedal, A. Neufeld, S. Luborsky, M, Sankar, A. 2017. “Older and Younger African Americans’ Story Schemas and Experiences of Living with HIV/AIDS” J. of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. (accepted)
• Arnetz, J., Ager J, Hamblin L, Russell J, Upfal M, Luborsky M, Essenmacher L. 2016. Preventing Patient-To-Worker Violence In Hospitals: Outcome Of A Randomized Controlled Intervention. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 59 (1)18-27. PMC5214512
• McGonagle, A., Essenmacher, L., Hamblin, L., Luborsky, M., Upfal, M., Arnetz, J. 2016. Management commitment to safety, teamwork, and hospital worker injuries Journal of Hospital Administration. 5(6):46-52 PMC5113017
• Fallahpour, M., Borell, L., Luborsky, M., Nygård, (2105). Leisure-activity participation to prevent later life cognitive decline: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 23(3), 162-197. PMID: 26586025
• Hamblin, L., Essenmacher, L., Upfal, M., Russell, J., Luborsky, M. Ager, J., and Arnetz, J. (2015). Worker-to-worker violence in hospitals: Perpetrator characteristics and common dyads. Journal of Workplace Health and Safety. PMID: 26450899 [PubMed supplied by publisher] [Epub ahead of print]
• Hamblin, L., Essenmacher, L., Upfal, M., Russell, J., Luborsky, M. Ager, J., and Arnetz, J. (2015 in press). Catalysts of worker-to-worker violence and incivility in hospitals. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 24(17-18):2458-67. PubMed [journal] PMID: 25852041
• Fritz HA, Lysack C, Luborsky MR, Messinger SD. 2015. Long-term community reintegration: concepts, outcomes and dilemmas in the case of a military service member with a spinal cord injury. Disability and Rehabilitation. 37(16):1501-7. PMID: 25270306
• Arnetz J. E., Hamblin L ., Ager J., Luborsky M., Upfal M., Russell, J., & Essenmacher L. (2015 in press). Underreporting of workplace violence: Comparison of self-report and actual documentation of incidences in hospital settings. Workplace Health and Safety. 63(5):200-10. PMID: 26002854
• Arnetz, J., Hamblin, L Ager, J, Aranyos, D, Essemacher, L, Upfal, M, Luborsky, M. (2015) Using database reports to reduce workplace violence: Perceptions of hospital stakeholders. WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation 51: 51-59 PMID: 25059315 [PubMed - in process]
• Arnetz J. E., Hamblin L., Essenmacher L., Upfal M. J ., Ager J. & Luborsky M. 2015. Understanding Patient-To-Worker Violence In Hospitals: A Qualitative Analysis Of Documented Incident Reports. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 71(2), 338–348. PMID: 25091833
• Arnetz, J., Hamblin, L., Ager, J., Aranyos, D., Upfal,M., Luborsky,M., Russell, J., Essenmacher, L. (2014). Application and implementation of the hazard risk matrix to identify hospital workplaces at risk for violence. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 57(11):1276-1284
• Johansson, K, Rudman, D., Mondaca, M., Park, M., Luborsky, M., Josephsson, S., Asaba, E.. 2013. Moving Beyond ‘Aging In Place’ to Understand Migration and Aging: Place Making and the Centrality Of Occupation. Journal of Occupational Science, 20(2):108-119
• Neufeld, S., Machacova, K., Mossey, J., Luborsky, M. 2013. Walking Ability and Its Relationship to Self-rated Health in Later Life. Clinical Gerontologist 36(1):17-32
• Ekerdt, D, Luborsky, M. & Lysack, C. 2012. Safe Passage of Goods and Self in Later Life. Ageing & Society. 32 (5): 833-850
• Luborsky, M. Lysack, C. Cross, K. VanNuil, J. 2011 Finding, Leaving, Refashioning One’s Place: Later Life Household Downsizing. Journal of Aging Studies. 25(3): 243-252
• Sankar, A, Nevedal, A, Neufeld, S, Luborsky, M 2011. What Do We Know About Older Adults and HIV: A Review Of Social And Behavioral Literature. AIDS Care 23(10):1187-1207
• Arnetz, J. Zhdanova, L Elsouhag, D, Lichtenberg, P, Luborsky, M, Arnetz, B. 2011. Organizational Climate Determinants of Resident Safety Culture in Nursing Homes. The Gerontologist (51(6):739-749
• Sankar, A, Neufeld, S., Berry, R., Luborsky, M. 2011. African American Rationales for Anti-retroviral Adherence. AIDS Patient Care and STDs. 25 (9): (forthcoming)
• Machacova, K., Neufeld, S., Mossey, J., Luborsky, M. Walking Ability and Its Relationship to Self-rated Health in Later Life. Clinical Gerontologist (in press)
• Rosso, A, Gallagher, R, Luborsky, M, Mossey, J. 2008. Depression and self-rated health are proximal predictors of episodes of sustained change in pain in independently living community dwelling elderly. Pain Medicine. 9(8): 1035-1049
• Luborsky, M. Sankar, A. 2006. Cultural Forces in the Acceptance of Qualitative Research: Advancing Mixed Method Research. In, Curry, L, Shield, R, & Wetle, T (Eds), Improving Aging and Public Health Research: Qualitative & Mixed Methods. American Public Health Association. Washington, DC
• McMullen, K, and Luborsky, M. 2006.  Self-Rated Health as Cultural and Identity Process: African-American Elders' Health Evaluative Rationales. The Gerontologist, 46(4):431-438
• Sankar, A, Wunderlich, T, Neufeld, S., Luborsky, M. 2006. Sero-positive African American Beliefs About Alcohol and Impact on Antiretroviral Adherence. AIDS & Behavior 10(4): 1-9
• Rohn, E., Sankar, A. Hoelscher, D, Luborsky, M. 2006. Addressing Confidentiality of HIV Patients Accessing Oral Health Care: Issues for Dental Education. Journal of Dental Education. 70(10): 1038-1042
• Sankar, A, Golin, C, Simoni, J, Luborsky, M, Pearson, C. 2006. How Qualitative Methods Contribute to Understanding Combination Anti-retroviral Therapy Adherence. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 41:(S54-S68
• Sankar, A, Nevedal, D, Neufeld, S, Luborsky, M 2006. What is a Missed Dose? Implications for Construct Validity and Patient Adherence. AIDS Care. 18(5): 1-7
• La Cour, K, Luborsky, M, Josephsson, S. 2005. Creating Connections To Life During Life-Threatening Illness: Creative Activity Experienced By Elderly People And Occupational Therapists. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 12(3): 98-109

Recent chapters

• Luborsky, M, Lysack, C. 2017. Design Considerations in Qualitative Research, In, Kielhofner's Research in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for Enhancing Practice - 2nd Edition Renee R. Taylor (Editor). FA Davis, MA
• Dillaway, H, Luborsky, M, Lysack, 2017. Qualitative Approaches to Interpreting and Reporting Data. In, Kielhofner's Research in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for Enhancing Practice - 2nd Edition Renee R. Taylor (Editor). FA Davis, MA
• Lysack, C, Luborsky, M, Dillaway, H . Collecting Quantitative Data. 2017. In, Kielhofner's Research in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for Enhancing Practice - 2nd Edition Renee R. Taylor (Editor). FA Davis, MA
• Luborsky, M., 2014. Speaking Health: Discourse and Sociocultural Factors in Health Self-Appraisals” in H. Hamilton & W. Chou (Eds). Routledge Handbook of Language and Health Communication, Routledge Taylor & Francis, Oxon, Great Britain
• Lichtenberg, P. & Luborsky, M. 2014. “Alzheimer’s On Trial: Ethical Consequences At the Intersection off Health And Law As Practiced” In, H. Hamilton & W. Chou (Eds). Routledge Handbook of Language and Health Communication , Routledge Taylor & Francis, Oxon, Great Britain
• Arnetz, J, Ager, J, Luborsky, M, Aranyos, D, Russell, J, Essenmacher, L, Hamblin, L, Upfal, M. 2012. “Framework For Reduction Of Workplace Violence In Hospitals,” in I. Needham, K. McKenna, M. Kingma, and N. Oud, (Eds). Violence in the Health Sector. Kavanah: Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Lysack, C, Luborsky, M, Dillaway, H. 2006. “Gathering Qualitative Data.” In, G. Kielfhofner (Ed), Scholarship in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for Enhancing Practice. FA Davis, Philadelphia, PA
• Luborsky, M, Lysack, 2006. “Overview Of Qualitative Research” In, G. Kielfhofner (Ed), Scholarship in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for Enhancing Practice. FA Davis, Philadelphia, PA
• Dillaway, H, Luborsky, M, Lysack, 2006. “Interpreting Qualitative Data” In, G. Kielfhofner (Ed), Scholarship in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for Enhancing Practice. FA Davis, Philadelphia, PA
• Luborsky M., & Rubinstein, R. 2001. Sampling in Qualitative Research, in, A. Bryman (Ed.) Ethnographic Research: Vol II: Ethnographic Fieldwork Practice. SAGE Publications Ltd, Thousand Oaks, CA
• Luborsky, M. & Kurn, C. 1999. Culture and Aging, In J. Cavanaugh and S. Whitebourne (eds), Gerontology: An Interdiscipinary Perspective. NY: Oxford University Press
• Luborsky, M. Creative Challenges and the Construction of Meaningful Life Narratives. In, C. Adams-Price (Ed), Creativity and Successful Aging: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches. New York: Springer. 1998

Other qualifications directly relevant to courses taught

Serve as faculty on:

• Methods Core of the NIH/RCMAR faculty training program (University of Michigan/Wayne State University)
• NIH Mixed Methods Research Training (Harvard/Johns Hopkins)

Formerly served on:

• NIMH Advanced Center for Intervention Research (ACISR; University of Pennsylvania)
• Co-Director of an AHQR Post-Doctoral Training
• International training (Sweden, Taiwan, Rwanda) including national funding for doctoral and faculty development at the Division of Neurobiology & Care Sciences at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

Citation index

• Google Scholar
• National Center for Biotechnology

Courses taught by Mark R. Luborsky

Winter Term 2025 (future)

• ANT5400 - Anthropology of Health and Illness

Fall Term 2023

• ANT3400 - Introduction to Medical Anthropology

Winter Term 2022

• ANT7210 - Qualitative Research II