An anthropologist trained at Copenhagen University, Mikkel has been working for a decade on Pakistani-Scandinavian transnationalism, especially on family relations and, most recently, Sufism. His recent work includes a book, Family upheaval: Generation, mobility and relatedness among Pakistani migrants in Denmark(Berghahn, 2013) and articles such as "Transnational Sufism from Below: Charismatic Counselling and the Quest for Wellbeing," "A decade of suspicion: Islam and Muslims in Denmark after 9/11," and "'The Family of Denmark' and 'The Aliens:' Kinship images in Danish integration politics." Mikkel has made significant contributions to the ICSRU and to the project on Sufism and Transnational Spirituality since his arrival at AU in 2010, and his new position represents a valuable long-term addition to the ICSRU's resources.