Medical Anthropology is part of the Anthropological-Sociological Research Centres in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the University of Amsterdam. Research, in the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research (ASSR) is directed by Prof. Dr. Anita Hardon. Within the University of Amsterdam, close cooperation exists with other research institutes, e.g. InDRA and the Department of Social Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine. Areas of research can be summarised as follows: how do people define and experience health problems; how do they strive to improve their health and well-being; and what are their responses to health care interventions? Medical-anthropological research is generally conducted in settings where people are confronted by health care interventions designed to improve their general state of health or to influence patterns of behaviour which may be detrimen-tal to their well-being. Consequently such research is dynamic in nature. Topics of investigation are not limited to the patients' subjective experience of, and response to, such interventions but also include the activities and culture of the institutions undertaking the health care inter-ventions. The topics of investigation are further related to the broader socio-cultural and political-economic context. Many projects conducted are comparative in nature. The results of research in Asian, American, African and European settings are placed side by side to reach a deeper understanding of the social and cultural `operatives' of health and health care. Research is principally empirical with an emphasis on methods and techniques designed to generate qualitative data, preferably with due attention to historical circumstances and processes.