Blog

Joana Formosinho, Interdisciplinary Research Fellow, explains the how public engagement, like the upcoming Gutscapes event, informs her research practice, and what people can expect.

Karissa Patton, Andrea Ford, Naomi Lawson, Heather Robertson reflect on the workshops held as part of the Women’s Health in Scotland (WISH) pilot events.

Make Your Robot!

Public Engagement Event / Talk and Collage Making Workshop

Part of the Festival of Social Science 2023 (UKRI/ESRC funding)

Summerhall, Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Friday 27th October 2023, 6:00-7:30 pm

Hiroto Shimizu, a medical sociologist, reflects on his two-year research journey in Edinburgh, exploring narratives of depression in Japan, UK, and the US, aiming to enrich the understanding of mental health.

On World AIDS Day (December 1, 2023), the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society (CBSS) at the Usher Institute, hosted a roundtable with key voices to discuss the futures of HIV after COVID. The 6 discussants and 71 attendees represented clinical, activist, as well as scholarly realms of HIV engagement in the UK. Each speaker provided their brief remarks regarding their perceptions on the futures, challenges, and opportunities for HIV in the UK. The presentations and resultant Q&A emphasized inclusivity, community engagement, and the need for flexibility in addressing the complexities of HIV-related policies and actions following the COVID-19 pandemic response.

The 2022-23 mpox outbreak, caused by the mpox virus, shed light on the significant role of social media in health promotion and communication during a global epidemic outbreak. A recent article published in BMJ Public Health explored the experiences of key stakeholder groups during this outbreak and highlighted both the advantages and challenges of using social media as a tool for health promotion

This summer, CBSS were pleased to host a visit from Amit Prasad, Associate Professor in the School of History and Sociology at Georgia Tech (USA). Amit spoke about his important new book - Science Studies Meets Colonialism (Polity) – and his compelling research on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emma Nance and Jamie Webb consider the question, “The Futures of Bioethics: What Should It Look Like?”.

Andrea Ford recounts her time at the Tiree Tech Wave in western Scotland

Several countries are introducing prohibitionist policies to reduce smoking - but what does bioethics tell us about the efficacy, safety, or fairness of these policies, by Francisco Blancarte Jaber

A discussion of how doulas shape the experiences of people giving birth - and challenge social norms in the process, by Andrea Ford

Emma Nance reflects on her first year of the One Health Models of Disease PhD

A discussion of the end of the 'gay blood ban' by NHS England and why it risks further marginalising Black and immigrant would-be donors, by Chase Ledin

A reflection on how a Shetland community are using traditional knitting to crowdfund an MRI scanner, by Ellen Stewart

COVID-19 shows how governments need to work more closely with experts in the social aspects of biomedicine by Martyn Pickersgill, Associate Director of CBSS

Learn about two stories of LGBT+ history from the Edinburgh Medical School to celebrate Pride Month

An introduction to our new blog by Sophie Butcher, Communications and Social Media Intern at CBSS