The HEARTS Lab

Tracie Canada is the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology and is affiliated with the Sports & Race Project at Duke University. As a Black feminist anthropologist and ethnographer, her work uses sport, specifically American football, to theorize race, kinship, care, and gender.

Dr. Canada is the author of Tackling the Everyday: Race and Nation in Big-Time College Football, out in February 2025. In it, she analyzes the performing athletic body to reveal how processes of anti-Blackness, injury, violence, and care impact the everyday lived experiences of Black college football players. In addition to her academic publications, her work has been featured in public venues and outlets like The Museum of Modern Art, The Guardian, and Scientific American.

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For more information, please visit her website: www.traciecanada.com.

Morayo Abbey-Bada is a neuroscience major with a passion for understanding the complex interplay between the mind and body in athletic performance. As a pre-med student with a minor in chemistry, she is committed to pursuing a career in sports medicine. Her research interests lie in the intersection of sports psychology and neuromuscular control, focusing on how psychological factors and physical performance can influence injury risk and recovery. Additionally, she is interested in studying the  college athlete experience, particularly focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by Black athletes at D1 institutions. Morayo is eager to explore the multidisciplinary aspects of sports medicine, delving into the social, psychological, and physiological factors that impact athlete well-being.

Federico Dupont Bernal is a PhD student in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. His research focuses on how sports gambling in Colombia reveals new forms of entanglement between desire, technology, and finance. He examines various types of sports gamblers as heterogeneous subjects who navigate speculation, uncertainty, rationalization, and risk. Prior to his doctoral studies, Federico worked as a research assistant at Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) and as a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Swisspeace. He also serves on the Board of the Colombian Association of Anthropologists (ACANT).

Madeline Lawrence is majoring in Political Science with a concentration in Security, Peace, and Conflict, and minoring in Spanish and Marine Science & Conservation. She conducts oral history research on the integration of college football along Tobacco Road with Dr. Tracie Canada and works as a student athletic trainer for Duke Football. She also serves as the social chair for Duke Women’s Club Soccer and coaches youth soccer at Y. E. Smith Elementary in Durham. Madeline is originally from Indianapolis and the DMV.