About Us

Our vision, mission, and aims

Vision

To be an impactful and supportive centre for interdisciplinary and engaged education and research, shaping our understandings of contemporary biomedicine and healthcare in societies and driving meaningful change. 

Mission

The Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society (CBSS) explores the complex social, legal, and ethical landscapes that shape contemporary biomedicine and healthcare. As an interdisciplinary centre, CBSS draws on critical perspectives from the social studies of science and medicine, the sociology of health and illness, bioethics, and the health humanities. We work in dialogue and collaboration with biomedicine, public health, and diverse communities. Through this engaged approach, CBSS seeks to break down longstanding barriers to knowledge production and transform pedagogy in relation to health and society. 

Our Aims:

  • Support established and emerging academics in the social sciences of medicine and health humanities   
  • Develop innovative approaches to collaboration, stakeholder and public engagement related to biomedical practice, ethics, regulation and policy  
  • Generate rapid, insightful, and practicable analyses of current and emerging concerns in biomedicine and health  
  • Foster new modalities of education and pedagogical practices in order to better integrate humanities and social science into health and bioscience training, and nurture the development of healthcare practitioners and scientists committed to careful engagement with ethical and social considerations 

  • Engage communities locally, nationally, and internationally in thoughtful conversations about transformations in healthcare, biomedicine, and the social sciences and humanities 

     

Funding

CBSS was initially developed through a generous grant from Wellcome, 2017 - 2025.  It is now a well established Centre within the Usher Institute, College of Medicine and Veterinary  Medicine,  driving and supporting collaboration across Colleges.  

Related information

Contact CBSS

Ways to get in touch with the Centre

Our People

Staff and students at the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society (CBSS) bring expertise and experience from across the humanities and social sciences, working together to propel interdisciplinary research, education, and engagement.

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