Violeta Schubert is Associate Professor in Development Studies in the School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Melbourne. She holds a PhD and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Anthropology from the University of Melbourne. Her professional trajectory at the university includes prior roles as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Development Studies, with employment from 2021 to present.

Schubert's research focuses on anthropology and development studies, including ethnographic studies of kinship, gender dynamics, politics, and social transformations in contemporary societies. Her monograph Modernity and the Unmaking of Men (Berghahn Books, 2020) is based on fieldwork in Macedonia, investigating aging rural bachelorhood and intersections between politics, kinship, and gendered identities. She published Leadership and Organisational Culture in Development: Challenging Exceptionalism (Taylor & Francis, 2022). Key journal articles include "Influence of Context and Setting on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes of Ayahuasca Drinkers: Results of a Large International Survey" (Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2021), "Associations between ayahuasca consumption in naturalistic settings and current alcohol and drug use: Results of a large international cross-sectional survey" (Drug and Alcohol Review, 2021), "Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey" (PLOS Global Public Health, 2022), "Life after Ayahuasca: A Qualitative Analysis of the Psychedelic Integration Experiences of 1630 Ayahuasca Drinkers from a Global Survey" (Psychoactives, 2023), and "Associations Between Ayahuasca Use in Naturalistic Settings and Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes: Analysis of a Large Global Dataset" (2024). She has also contributed papers on Indonesian contexts, such as "Policy capacity, local autonomy, and human agency: tensions in the intergovernmental coordination in Indonesia’s social welfare response amid the COVID-19 pandemic" (Journal of Asian Public Policy, 2020) and "Feminization of Poverty Program (PFK) and the Empowerment of Women Heads-of-Household in East Java, Indonesia" (Journal of International Women's Studies, 2019), alongside earlier work like "Dynamics of Macedonian Kinship in a Mediterranean Perspective: Contextualizing Ideologies and Pragmatics of Agnation" (Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 2005).

Schubert is co-chief investigator of the multidisciplinary Global Ayahuasca Project and co-founder of the Medicinal Psychedelics Research Network at the University of Melbourne. She collaborates on research into women and leadership in Indonesia. Additionally, she serves as Managing Editor of the Journal of Governance and Administrative Reform.

Professional Email: violetas@unimelb.edu.au