Ana Garcia-Arranz holds a PhD in Sociology, for which she was awarded with the Extraordinary Doctorate Prize. She also obtained a Master’s in Applied Research from Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) and an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa (IE Business School). She is accredited by the Spanish National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) and is Lecturer at Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid).
She has participated in three R&D projects funded under the Spanish National Plan, as well as projects conducted under Article 83 of the Spanish Science Law. Her contributions are regular at conferences organised by major international academic organisations, including the International Sociological Association (ISA), the European Sociological Association (ESA), the International Communication Association (ICA), the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), and the European Advertising Academy (EAA).
Her research has focused on the social representations of different groups in the media, advertising of health-related products, and critical discourse analysis. She is currently developing models that may contribute to enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms shaping social perceptions of risks and adverse events (such as side effects, abuse, misuse, or dependence) associated with non-prescription medicines (NPMs) and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Her work places particular emphasis on the problematic role of the media and advertising in the promotion of these products, which are heavily marketed outside existing regulatory frameworks with a prevalence of misleading claims. This type of marketing, driven by profitability rather than ethics, represents a new form of societal control influenced by diverse interests.
Her current teaching responsibilities include courses on Contemporary Social Structure, Social Research Methods, and General Sociology. Throughout her academic career, however, she has taught a broad range of courses within the fields of communication and advertising.
She is a member of the methaodos.org Research Group, which has been evaluated as an Excellent Research Group by the Spanish National Agency for Assessment and Foresight (ANEP) and recognised as a High-Performance Research Group. Furthermore, she is the editor of methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales, a journal indexed in high-impact catalogues such as ESCI-Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science Core Collection), and which has been awarded the Editorial and Scientific Quality Seal by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).