[2] Källén's work in Laos and other Southeast Asian countries drew her towards questions about the uses and appropriations of archaeological heritage in contemporary societies.
After completing her PhD, Källén moved to Stockholm University, where she pursued postdoctoral research in critical heritage studies.
She is particularly interested in how lingering social and political structures from 19th and early-20th century European imperialism continue to inform present-day heritage practices, often reproducing colonialist and orientalist notions of time, history and race.
[9] In 2025, Källén published The Trouble with Ancient DNA: Telling Stories of the Past with Genomic Science.
In the book, she scrutinizes the storytelling techniques which underpin ancient DNA research and argues that the narratives produced by archaeogenetics are closely interwoven with contemporary political agendas and cultural conceptions of race and identity.