Office Hours
By Appointment
Education
PhD, Louisiana State University
MSW, University of Louisville
MA, Stephen F. Austin University
BA, Texas A&M University-Commerce
About Me
Allen Furr’s research focuses on the sociology of health, with a particular interest in mental health and intimate partner violence. Much of his work investigated the psychosocial dynamics of facial disfigurement. He was part of the University of Louisville’s research team that pioneered facial transplantation, and he has researched the stigma experienced by facially disfigured women in India. Furr and his colleagues wrote the first three academic reviews of the new concept of head transplantation. His book on this subject, A Test of Morals: The Surgical, Ethical, and Psychosocial Considerations in Human Head Transplantation, which centered on the ethics of this as yet untried surgery, was released in 2024. His previous book, A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness, was published by Sage in 2022.
More recently in 2025, Furr exhibited his photographs on everyday life in India at the University of North Carolina Asheville. The exhibit was accompanied by his lecture on visual sociology and interpreting photographs through a sociological lens.
Furr was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach at Punjabi University in Patiala, India, and his research can be found in journals in psychiatry, medicine, nursing, social work, as well as sociology.
Research Interests
Bioethics and psychosocial dynamics of composite tissue transplantation; mental health and women in India
Publications
Rana M, Gupta PC, Grover S, Furr A, and Bhargava N. (2023). Prevalence and association of digital eye strain with the quality of sleep and feeling of loneliness among female college students in northern India. Indian Journal of Public Health, 67(4): 618-625.
Barker JH, Furr A, Hardy MA, and Barret JP. 2018. Are we ready for a human head transplant? The obstacles that must be overcome. Current Transplantation Reports, 5(2): 189-198.
Furr LA. 2018. A conversation with new chairs. The Department Chair, 28(4): 3-4.
Furr A, Hardy MA, Barret JP, and Barker JH. 2017. Surgical, ethical, and psychosocial considerations in human head transplantation. International Journal of Surgery, 41: 190-195.
Hardy MA, Furr A, Barret JP, and Barker JH. 2017. The immunologic considerations in human head transplantation. International Journal of Surgery, 41: 196-202.
Furr LA. 2014. Facial disfigurement stigma: A study of victims of domestic assaults with fire in India." Violence Against Women. 20: 783-798.
Bierenbaum M, Katsikas, S, Furr LA, and Carter B. 2013. Factors associated with non-reimbursable activity on an inpatient pediatric consultation-liaison service, Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 20(4): 464-472.
Barker JH, Furr A, Cunningham M, Basappa PS, Wiggins O, Banis JC Jr., Alloway RR, Woodle ES, and Frank JM. 2011. Risk assessment and management in hand and facial tissue transplantation. European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, 37(5): 469-476.
Marshall GA and Furr LA. 2010. Factors that affect women’s attitudes toward domestic violence in Turkey. Violence and Victims. 25(2): 265-277.
Suresh G, Furr LA, and Srikrishnan AK. 2009. An assessment of the mental health of street-based sex workers in Chennai, India. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice (special edition on India), 25(2): 202-213.
Layer JK, Karwowski W, and Furr LA. 2009. Human performance as a function of operator cognitive demands and quality of work life. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 39(2): 413-421.
Storey B, Furr A, Banis JC, Cunningham M, Vasilic D, Wiggins O, Martinez S, Reynolds CC, Ashcraft RR, and Barker JH. 2007. Psychosocial issues in composite tissue allotransplantation. In, Hewitt CW, Lee WPA, and Gordon CR (eds.), Transplantation of Composite Tissue Allografts, pps 452-459. New York: Springer.
Furr LA, Wiggins O, Cunningham M, Vasilic D, Brown CS, Banis JC, Maldonado C, Perez-Abadia G, and Barker JH. 2007. The psychosocial implications of disfigurement and the future of human face transplantation. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 120(2): 559-565.
Barker JH, Stamos N, Furr A, McGuire S, Cunningham M, Wiggins O, Brown CS, Gander B, Maldonado C, and Banis Jr JC. 2007. Research and events leading to facial transplantation. Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 34(2): 233-250.
Barker JH, Furr A, McGuire S, Cunningham M, Wiggins O, Banis JC. 2007. Response to editorial entitled "On the Ethics of Composite Tissue Allotransplantation (Facial Transplantation) Letter to the Editor. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 119(5): 1621-1622.
Furr LA and Das N. (2006). The effects of social autonomy on BMI scores: A study of women in Nepal. Contributions to Nepalese Studies, 33(1): 17-26.
Barker JH, Furr A, Cunningham M, Grossi F et al. 2006. Investigation of risk acceptance in facial transplantation. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 118(3): 663-670.
Furr LA. 2005. On the relationship between cultural values and preferences and affective health in Nepal. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 51(1): 75-86.
Furr LA, Austin DM, Cribbs S, and Smoger S. 2005. The effects of neighborhood satisfaction on perception of safety among refugees from the former Soviet Union. Sociological Spectrum, 25(5): 519-537.