Sherylyn Briller

Promoted to Professor
Department of Anthropology
sbriller@purdue.edu

Sherylyn Briller completed a Ph.D. and master’s degree in anthropology at Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor’s in sociology and anthropology at Carleton College. She also earned a graduate certificate in gerontology from Case Western Reserve University.

A faculty associate in the Center on Aging and the Life Course, Briller is a cultural medical anthropologist specializing in the areas of aging, disability, end-of-life issues, and global health. She also has a longstanding interest in cross-cultural gerontology and conducted research in Mongolia and in the United States.

Briller’s major publications include a co-authored, four-volume series, Creating Successful Dementia Care Settings (Health Professions Press, 2001); a coedited volume, End-of-Life Stories: Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries (Springer, 2005); and Designing An Anthropological Career: Professional Development Exercises (AltaMira Press, 2009).

A Purdue faculty member since 2014, Briller is a 2017-18 recipient of the College of Liberal Arts Excellence in Engagement Award. She is a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology, past president of the Association for Anthropology and Gerontology Education, and co-chair of the Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology Programs.