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Spotlight on: Santosh Kumar

Santosh Kumar and the Environment and Climate Politics Working Group
Forest with dappled light and text Spotlight Series

We’re delighted to introduce Santosh Kumar as part of our PhD/ECR Spotlight Series. Santosh is currently a PhD candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi researching how epigenetic ideas impact societal understandings of air pollution in India.

Find about more about Santosh via his LinkedIn and researcher profile. Santosh can also be found on X/Twitter (@serene_santosh).

Santosh Kumar holding a mic and talking at a climate summit

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. My academic journey has been interdisciplinary, beginning with a B.Tech. and M.Tech. in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from IIT Delhi. Building on this scientific foundation, I pursued a Master’s, M.Phil., and am currently completing a Ph.D. in Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

My research lies at the intersection of the life sciences and the social sciences, with a specific focus on epigenetics and its broader social implications. I am particularly interested in understanding how emerging scientific knowledge reconfigures our views of the environment—both natural, such as air pollution, and social—and how these dimensions shape human health and well-being. By engaging in lab ethnography, I seek to critically examine how scientific practices evolve, and to analyze the societal questions raised by such advancements.

This dual background equips me to bring an interdisciplinary perspective to both my teaching and research. I am deeply committed to encouraging students to think beyond conventional disciplinary boundaries and to reflect critically on the complex relationships between science, technology, and society.

What are your research interests?

  • Science, technology, and society (STS)
  • Environmental Sociology
  • Sociology of Medicine

What are three sources you’d recommend to others related to environment and climate politics?

Three sources I recommend are:

  1. Decolonizing Biology? — a thought-provoking presentation discussing the colonial histories of biology and possibilities for a decolonial approach to life sciences, especially through epigenetics.
  2. Amita Baviskar’s public lecture From Dust to Dust – Air Pollution and Urban Experience in the Indian Anthropocene, which explores Delhi’s air pollution crisis within the cultural politics of environment and development.
  3. Mapping the New Molecular Landscape: Social Dimensions of Epigenetics — an article analyzing the social implications of epigenetic research.

These sources collectively provide interdisciplinary insights into environment, health, and the social lives of scientific knowledge.

What’s next for you?

I am aiming to submit my PhD by December 2025 while continuing to teach Sociology at Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. I will also be speaking at the 4S 2025 Conference in Seattle from September 3–7, 2025, and at the STS-IN Winter School at IIT Delhi’s Sonepat Campus from December 12–14, 2025.

The ECP WG’s Spotlight Series provides a platform for PhD and early career researchers to introduce themselves and their work. If you are interested in participating, please get in touch at: ecp.group@bisa.ac.uk. 

Find out more about the Environment and Climate Politics Working Group

Photo by Paul Hudson via Flickr. Text has been added to the photo.