rylko-bauer received an undergraduate degree in microbiology from the university of michigan, and in 1985 was awarded a phd in anthropology from the university of kentucky. her interests include medical anthropology, applied anthropology, social suffering, health care inequities in the us, health and human rights, narrative analysis, and the holocaust. she has published various articles, chapters, and books on these topics. she has served as a contributing editor to the american anthropology association's "anthropology news" for the society for medical anthropology (1991–1994) and for the aaa committee on practicing, applied, and public interest anthropology (2013-2014), as book review editor for "medical anthropology quarterly" (1994–2000), and on several committees for the society for applied anthropology.