I am a futures-anthropologist with a PhD (2014, Cum Laude) in anthropology and a professional background in Futures Thinking. I am Editor-in-Chief of the Futures Reframed Journal and President of an international foundation that aims to innovate academia. I have authored nine books and over 40 peer-reviewed articles. My work has been supported through multiple grants and awards, including a Startersgrant from the European Research Council for my research around AI in healthcare (2023-2028), and a Midsizegrant for a research project around Intergenerational Health of women and their babies in European refugeecamps (2025-2028). Additionally, I have been supported by the Amsterdam University Fund, UvA's/KNAW's Diamond Open Access Fund, NWO, and the Next Nature Foundation. I am currently the Principal Investigator of the 'HEALTH-AI' project as well as of a project called 'Future Health', and am also co-appliccant in a project around Indigenous Technologies.

My projects revolve around societal transformations: How is human society changing, and is that change moving in the direction we desire? What are we gaining, what are we losing, and who benefits? I am particularly interested in aspects of these transformations that we may not yet understand or recognize — the blind spots and unacknowledged practices — but that nonetheless matter significantly. Examples range from humanitarian practices conducted by aid workers in conflict settings that remain unregistered in formal evaluations, to the unheard voices of marginalized communities in the unfolding climate debate, to the ways in which humans perceive (or ignore) animal sentience. They also include the human workload and ethical issues concealed by artificial intelligence systems, as well as the small yet crucial gestures—such as smiles, shoulder pats, and jokes—that nurses employ to alleviate suffering in hospitals.

I try to make my research as accessible as possible for a wider audience, by combining academic writing with more accessible formats: books, blogs or longreads in newspapers, theaterscripts, podcasts, and, recently, an art installation. My academic books have been published internationally, by Routledge, HarperCollins and Polity Press. My articles have appeared in journals such as Anthropology Today,  Information, Communication & Society, AI & Society, Third Quarterly, Medicine Anthropology Theory, Disaster Prevention and Management, Urban Forum, Health, Risk & Society, and Politics and Governance. 

I have supervised 4 PhD students in former research projects, and currently supervise 2 PhDstudents and 3 Postdoctoral students. I have developed several University-courses for Bachelor and Masterstudents, as well as for non-academic professionals. Recent examples are ‘When Disasters meet Conflict’ (free available on Coursera), and Sustainable Humanity (UvA). I currently teach the BA- and MA-courses Practicing Etnography, Doing Anthropology and Writing Applied Etnography. Besides, I supervise bachelors and master students while writing their theses.

Administrative roles

• Internship Coordinator, Anthropology department University of Amsterdam
• Editor-In-chief, Futures Reframed (Diamond Open Access journal)
• President FR, an international foundation that aims to innovate science
• Chair of the Dutch Future Society (until 2026)

Research methods

• Etnography
• Participant observation
• Digital anthropology
• Future-in-the now research

Current research projects

HEALTH-AI

If people hear about ‘alghorytmic decisionmaking’, they typically think of a computer system and the data sets itcalculates. In reality, all alghorytmic decisions are made in collaboration with humans: it is us, who create them, evaluate them, follow theiroutcomes or deviate from them. My project is an anthropological study of the collaboration between humans and alghorytmic systems, in the field of global public health – a field where the growth in datafication and automation is unprecedented. In six country cases, the researchers of this project will look at how doctors, programmers and algorithms make decisions together, for example in the field of DNA genetic research, or preventive health care.

FUTURE HEALTH: The effects of Invisible Support in Refugee Care for Intergenerational Health

This research focuses on pregnant women in European refugee receptioncenters and the role of staff and volunteers in alleviating the stress affecting them and their unborn and newborn children. Prenatal stress has been shown to have severe, long-term negative consequences on the development of unborn children, potentially leading to intergenerational health issues (Räikkönen et al., 2012). Our objective is to highlight the often-overlooked yet crucial supportive actions provided by staff and volunteers, comparing these actions to formal Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) methods.

While comprehensive research is lacking (a gap this study aims to fill), there is consistent evidence suggesting that staff in refugee support organizations engage in effective but often unrecognized actions to reduce stress. Examples include 24-hour emergency phone lines, informal talks, and organizing relaxing activities for women. Such 'invisible care' in aid situations is crucial for lowering stress levels among mothers and their babies. However, these actions are not captured in M&E reports and are often overlooked by funders, creating a gap between what aid organizations claim to do and what they actually accomplish. This discrepancy complicates funding for organizations that excel at providing these unrecognized forms of care.

This research is vital as it translates the ideals of the 2024 UN Declaration on Future Generations into action within the urgent refugee crisis, addressing both current individuals and those yet to be born, and demonstrating how we can contribute meaningfully and evidence-based to these principles in practice.

INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGIES: Exploring digital transformation through the lens of indigenous communities in the Amazon Rainforest

The research project focuses on understanding digital transformation within indigenous communities in the Amazon Rainforest, highlighting how Digital Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can influence social practices and language preservation. While ICTs are widely utilized, their development is predominantly influenced by a few countries, raising questions about their integration into the lives of non-westernized populations in the Global South. The project involves collaboration with indigenous communities in Brazil to investigate how they creatively engage with digital technologies, often facing challenges posed by designs and algorithms rooted in Western perspectives. 

This initiative emphasizes co-design and engagement, aiming to foster mutual learning between indigenous researchers and the academic team, which includes Dr. Paula Helm, Dr. Beatrice Bonami and Dr. Adriano da Silva. The project seeks to produce collaborative ethnography by co-authoring research papers and facilitating joint workshops both in the Amazon and in European settings. Funded by a seed grant from Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam, the research aspires to broaden the understanding of digital transformation by incorporating indigenous epistemologies, thereby challenging and enriching existing perspectives on technology integration.

Research grants & honours

• Van Voorst, R. (2025). 15.000 Euro grant for development of Diamond Open Access journal.
• Van Voorst, R. (2025). 200.000 Euro grant for FUTURE HEALTH Project.
• Diamond Open Access Van Voorst, R. (2023). 15.000 Euro grant by Amsterdam University Fund for developing innovative Future-in-the-Now method.
• Van Voorst, R. (2022). ERC-Starting grant (1.5 Million Euro) for study on the future of public health: Health-AI
• van Voorst, R. (2021). Researchgrant ACES 15.000 for study on digital health care.
• van Voorst, R. (2021). Researchgrant 3.000 Catharina van Tussenbroekfonds.
• van Voorst, R. (2010). LOVA/Marjan Rens Thesis Award

Overview courses

• Practicing Etnography (coordination)
• Writing Applied Anthropology
• Doing Anthropology
• Bootcamp Etnography and Design
• (Research) Master thesis supervision

Phd Supervision

• Rodrigo Mena (successfully defended his thesis in June 2020, ISS The Hague)
• Isabelle Desportes ( (successfully defended her thesis in May 2020, ISS The Hague)
• Samantha Melis  (successfully defended her thesis in October 2020, ISS The Hague)
• Ismail Umar (PhD Candidate in project HEALTH-AI, 2023-2027)
• Albina Abzalova (PhD Candidate in project HEALTH-AI, 2023-2027)