the ThanaLab

• the ThanaLab •

Welcome to the ThanaLab™

The ThanaLab, established in 2022, is a partnership between the School of American Thanatology and independent thanatologist Cole Imperi.

The ThanaLab is the home of thanatological curiosity, spirited partnerships and heartfelt research.

What We Provide

Articles, Papers and Opinions

As a result of our thanatological curiosity into things like Shadowloss, Resilience, Grief, Mourning Behaviors, Thanotechnology, Tangible Loss and Deathworker Sentiment; papers, articles and opinions are sometimes published. These documents are touchpoints along the research pathway and provide a way to communicate our findings and thoughts in a way that is easy to read and understand. These pieces also provide a venue for diverse voices to share lived experiences paired with recent research.

Press and Media Support

For journalists and writers covering world events, mass casualties, loss, death, mourning or grief, the ThanaLab can serve as a resource to connect you with professionals that can help you confirm details or add insight to your story. We can also review details in your pieces and confirm their accuracy while providing you with detailed explanations. This service is free of charge as we believe accurate information about death, dying, grief and loss is imperative.

Whether you need someone for video, audio or text, please reach out.

Work Groups

Periodically, we form small groups and review selected issues. This review provides an opportunity to test new team formations, explore a new topic or issue, and assess whether a topic warrants more study or discussion. Workgroups function under a mix of independent work paired with regular group meetings most often resulting in the release of a short paper.

Social Listening

By pulling and reviewing posts and content from social media outlets, we can discover complexities and patterns connected to death, dying, grief, loss and bereavement. By ‘listening in’ to social, we tap in to a publicly accessible and real-time measure of the way people talk about and share their lived experiences with loss.

Research Support

The ThanaLab provides research support to independent thanatologist Cole Imperi, and other professionals.

Student Development

Students of the School of American Thanatology have access to opportunities to participate in and learn about modern research.

Spirited Partnerships

Through partnerships and relationships with other research labs and institutions, we contribute to related research projects.