Professor Sullivan’s current research explores international clinical volunteerism in the global South. Explored empirically in Tanzania across five fields seasons since 2011, including over 1600 hours of observations of international volunteer-Tanzanias interactions in health facilities, the project examines how the for-profit voluntourism industry maps onto the under-resourced health system in Tanzania, and to what effect for international volunteers, Tanzanian health professionals, patients, and the institutions more broadly.

Her next project examines the U.S. health sector, and in particular the economic, environmental, microbial, administrative, and institutional effects of the turn towards disposable and limited-use medical implements.