The Research Division operates as one but has two parts: USA Research and International Research, each headed by their respective chair, each focusing on their respective areas.

Research Division Goals
- Promote research on medical interpreting efficacy and effect
- Promote research in cross-cultural communication
- Promote researcher professional development and networking
- Obtain grants for research in the field
- Support researchers in the field to do their research under the umbrella of the IMIA organization
 

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IMIA Research Division is Formed - IMIA Seeks Interpreting Researchers - Identify Yourself by Checking off Researcher in your IMIA Profile!

All professions need research (and researchers) to improve. Medical interpreting is no exception. In order to increase the quality of the services we provide, we need to know: whether a certain strategy in a given context works or not, how other professionals expect interpreters to work, which features of a culture become more complex in a typical Western medical setting and what possible solutions are applicable...

This knowledge moves forward the discipline and will be a part of what future interpreters will be trained to do. It also increases our credibility as a profession as we are be perceived in more serious way as a professional community in the eyes of other professionals and also society in general.

This is why promoting research is one of IMIA's main objectives, as per the organization's charter. As a 501c3 non-profit organization, IMIA wishes to support its members who are pursuing masters, PhDs, and/or are doing grant-funded research in getting funding for their research projects through the IMIA as their research home.

If you see opportunities for grants, please propose your study to the IMIA Research Division and perhaps you can make the proposal under the IMIA Research Division, which is a 501c3.
Therefore we would now like to identify who amongst our membership has engaged in interpreter related research through scientifically sound research methodology, and/or have published in research publications, etc.

IMIA Profile Now Includes Researcher Question: If you are a researcher, please go into your IMIA Profile (Go to the IMIA website at www.imiaweb.org and log in at http://www.imiaweb.org/members/profile.asp. You will see a question at the top of the application that asks: Are you a researcher? By answering yes, you will allow the IMIA to identify you and this will be an important step in devising a Researcher Division for the activities of the organization. To find out who currently incorporates the Research Division, please go to the registry and search for 'researcher'.

If you are not a researcher but know of someone who is and might be interested in joining, please tell them about this initiative.

IMIA Administration
 

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IMIA USA Research Division Chair

The IMIA is pleased to announce that Lissie Wahl-Kleiser, Ph.D. is the IMIA USA Research Division Chair. Contact: ResearchUSA@imiaweb.org.

 

Lissie Wahl-Kleiser, Ph.D.
I'm a medical anthropologist and interpreter.  I was born and raised in Lima, Perú.  I developed in the middle of cultural and linguistic diversity.  My mother was from Germany, my grandfather from Switzerland, my grandmother from Lima, and my father from Wisconsin.  I knew the same things could be referred to in different ways, depending on the language.  I also knew the same things could be culturally understood and differently managed.

My family loved to travel to the Andes and the Amazon, and I spent a large part of time in the countryside, riding a horse and playing with my friends among pre-hispanic archaeological remains.  Not surprisingly, I eventually became an anthropologist.  I completed my doctorate in the U.S. and for 30 years conducted research and did advocacy work with indigenous peoples among whom, again, differences were not just a matter of language but of cultural values as well. I worked on helping making peoples with no voice heard by outsiders.  I also continuously worked on assisting in the interpretation of the outside world to them. 

When I arrived here eight years ago and became a medical interpreter as well, I found my new task a curious turn on what had been my lifetime endeavor.  Patients and doctors confronted enormous linguistic challenges.  They also faced tremendously different cultural understandings of words and concepts once translated. I became a Research Fellow at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard University Medical School, and began working, researching, and discussing with colleagues the numerous issues that could be observed through medical interpreting.  Many of these were mentioned frequently in the literature, interviews, and informal discussions.  Nonetheless, they were only rarely discussed across disciplines with the institution of medical interpretation itself.  I now am deeply engaged in this process with colleagues, doctors, and through various disciplines. 

I live by the ocean in Revere, hold three additional jobs, and devote all of my spare time to working on the subject, walking along the beach with my dog, and enjoying my daughter whenever I can see her, now that she has graduated from college, has a full time job, and is initiating her own rhythm of life.  For many reasons, I am now ready to engage in research as I rarely have before.

 

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IMIA is currently looking for a Research Division Vice Chairpersons for both the USA and International components of the Division.

For more information please email info@imiaweb.org.

Serving in a chapter, committee or division leadership role provides enormous opportunities, both professionally and personally. IMIA Chairs frequently find themselves becoming more successful in their own careers as they develop additional skills, make useful business connections, and share ideas with other division members. The IMIA Administration provides support and mentoring for their success. Preference shall be given to candidates with previous involvement in the activities of the organization.
 

To Apply for an IMIA Vice Chairperson Position, See the Requirements (same as for IMIA Representation):
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Requirements_for_IMIA_Representation.pdf
 
Vice Chairperson Responsibilities:
- To assist and work closely with  the Chairperson in all their responsibilities as requested
- To assume the duties of the Chairperson when the chairperson is not present or available
- To apply for the chairperson position when the chairperson ends their term
 
If you have any questions about applying please email info@imiaweb.org

 

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