Dr. Patricia Kelly Spurles was trained as a cultural anthropologist at McGill University and Université de Montréal. She has taught at Mount Allison University since 2002.

Her current research addresses how individuals involved as small-scale garment makers and entrepreneurs (including textile recycling, garment sewing, and clothing refashioning) understand and engage the environmental and social justice challenges posed by mass-market apparel (ready-made clothing, including fast fashion). Dr Kelly Spurles has also carried out ethnographic research on traditional and tourist sector henna practices in Morocco and on attitudes toward breastfeeding in public places.

Selected publications include "Love in the Time of Intolerance: Why and How We Should Choose Civility in Academic Workplaces" (in Academic Leader, 2018),  "A Qualitative Study of Attitudes toward Public Breastfeeding among Young Canadian Men and Women" (written with former student Jessica Babineau, published in Journal of Human Lactation, 2011), "'This is Different, This is the Plaza': Space, Gender, and Tactics in the Work of Moroccan Tourist Sector Henna Artisans" (in Research in Economic Anthropology, 2008), and "Women, Gender, and Stereotypes: Concepts and Practices: Canada," (in Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, ed. Suad Joseph, 2005).

Her work has been supported by grants from organizations including the Canadian Institute for Health Research, Fonds Pour la Formation des Chercheurs et de l'Aide à la Recherche, International Development Research Council, the Marjorie Young Bell Faculty Fund (Mount Allison University), New Brunswick Medical Research Fund, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.