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. Academic Staff Sophie Atherton Research FellowDr Sophie Atherton (she/her) is a sociologist interested in gender, sexuality, health and education. She is currently working as a Research Fellow on the project: ‘Viral Memories: from HIV to COVID-19 and beyond’. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Baum & Leahy Visiting Arts FellowsBaum & Leahy (Amanda Baum and Rose Leahy) are Visiting Arts Fellows who collaborate with practitioners across disciplines, to open up, question and sensorialise scientific research into tactile, participatory experiences and multisensorial installations. During their fellowship at CBSS, Baum & Leahy explore imaginaries of the holobiont through arts and social research collaboration, and how this relates to the idea of environmental microbial justice. Arts Fellowship information Baum & Leahy website and contact information Nicola Boydell LecturerDr. Nicola Boydell (she/her) is a Lecturer in Social Science and Public Health and a Co-Principal Investigator on a collaborative project funded by the Scottish Government. This project is using participatory approaches to improve sexual and reproductive health services. Working with people who have experienced abortion and those who provide abortion services, the project is working to co-design adaptable models for post-abortion contraception. The goal is to enhance contraceptive services and improve choices and access to contraception for people seeking abortion in Scotland. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Sarah Chan Associate DirectorDr Sarah Chan (she/her) is a Reader in Bioethics and an Associate Director of CBSS. Sarah Chan is an interdisciplinary bioethicist whose research explores the ethics of emerging modes of biomedicine. She works actively to engage scientists, policymakers, and wider publics in discussions around these issues. Previously at Edinburgh she was Director of the Mason Institute for Medicine, Life Sciences and Law. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Sarah Cunningham-Burley Co-DirectorProfessor Sarah Cunningham-Burley (she/her) is Co-Director of CBSS and Personal Chair of Medical and Family Sociology in the Deanery of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences. She is an experienced medical and family sociologist, with expertise in building and supporting collaborative work between medicine, sociology, and beyond. Sarah's current research focusses on the social and ethical contexts of medical technologies, data science, engagement, health and disease using predominantly qualitative methods. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Marie de Lutz Postdoctoral Research Fellow Marie de Lutz (she/her) is a postdoctoral research fellow whose research explores the political economy of knowledge production, cutting across medical anthropology, science & technology studies, and political ecology. Marie is currently examining how data-driven technologies are mediating menstruation(-adjacent) practice in Colombia. Their PhD thesis in anthropology (Geneva Graduate Institute), is an ethnography of body-territory relations and knowledge production around the mobilisation of the menstrual cup in Colombia. Contact details Full details on research and outputs Giulia De Togni Chancellor’s FellowDr Giulia De Togni (she/her) is a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, Chancellor’s Fellow and Turing Fellow. She joined the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society in 2019 after completing her PhD at University College London. She specialises in Science and Technology Studies with degrees in Social Anthropology, Japanese Studies, and Legal Studies. Her work focuses on promoting responsible research and innovation for AI and robotics in the health and care sectors. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Dr Helen Eborall Senior LecturerDr Helen Eborall (she/her) is a Senior Lecturer in Critical Public Health. She teaches on the MBChB (Medicine) degree – leading the ‘Health in Communities’ unit within the Social and Ethical Aspects of Medicine module – and on the Master in Public Health. She leads social science and qualitative research work streams of research programmes of complex interventions in healthcare, including for screening, prevention and management of long-term health conditions, and in the context of trials. Contact details Full details on research projects and outputs Lukas Engelmann Senior LecturerDr Lukas Engelmann (he/him) is a Senior Lecturer and Chancellor’s Fellow who specialises in the history of medical knowledge and history of epidemiology. He leads the Epidemy Lab at Science, Technology and Innovation Studies (STIS), which researches the history of epidemiological reasoning, funded by an ERC Starting Grant. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Andrea Ford Wellcome Research FellowDr Andrea Ford (she/her) is a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow in Social Sciences and Humanities. A cultural and medical anthropologist, she is currently conducting a five-year, in-depth ethnography which will address a series of complex cultural questions around women’s health futures. Her study will specifically examine 'FemTech Innovation’, from period tracking apps to AI diagnostics to virtual postpartum communities, and whether this tech is, in fact, solving the right problems Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Joana Formosinho Interdisciplinary Research FellowJoana Formosinho (she/her) is an Interdisciplinary Research Fellow, working within the field of Science and Technology Studies. Joana’s research focuses on the social dimensions of biology; particularly microbiomes. She has a background in the biological sciences. Her research aims to increase capacity—within and beyond academic communities—to advance human flourishing whilst conserving biodiversity and planetary health. She has expertise in science and technology studies, social studies of microbes, gaia social science, interdisciplinary methods and artscience methods. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Agomoni Ganguli-Mitra Senior LecturerDr Agomoni Ganguli-Mitra (she/her) is Senior Lecturer in Bioethics and Global Health Ethics, and Deputy-director of the JK Mason Institute for Medicine, Life Sciences and the Law. Her writing covers ethical issues related to global health emergencies, public health, global surrogacy, sex-selection, biomedical research, racism in health and the concepts of exploitation vulnerability and power in bioethics. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Jeni Harden ProfessorProfessor Jeni Harden (she/her) is Personal Chair of Social Science in Medicine. She is an experienced qualitative researcher using participatory research approaches to improve health services. She is also Co-Director of Education for the Usher Institute and Co-Chair for BeSST (Behavioural and Social Science Teaching in Medicine). Jeni Harden - University of Edinburgh profile Full details on research projects and outputs Jaime Garcia-Iglesias Chancellor's FellowJaime Garcia-Iglesias (he/him) is a Chancellor's Fellow with a PhD in Sociology. He in an interdisciplinary researcher who leads on a number of projects, exploring the impacts of pandemics and outbreaks on the health of gender and sexual minority groups, including HIV, COVID, and mpox. He specializes in the intersections of sexuality, internet and health, with previous work focused on PrEP use, intimacy online, and HIV prevention. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Sarah-Jane Judge Science FellowDr Sarah-Jane Judge is Public Engagement practitioner with the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology. She is currently on secondment to the Usher Institute, undertaking a Science Fellowship with the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society. Her area of interest is the impact of research adjacent activities on research culture, with a particular focus on the impact public engagement can have on researchers’ wellbeing and sense of inclusion in their institution. Sarah-Jane Judge - University of Edinburgh Profile Abby King Postdoctoral Research FellowDr Abby King (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, anthropologist on the Data and healthcare Revolution (DARE) research project at STIS and an associate centre member. Her work explores the use of telehealth in the provision of mental health care, the implementation of electronic prescribing technologies in hospital and the meanings and cultures guiding understandings of 'access to care'. She leads work on the changing data/care relations that are enacted through the use of wearables in home-based clinical trials. Full contact and research details Marie Larsson Research FellowMarie Larsson is a Research Fellow at the Usher Institute, Centre for Population Health Sciences and at CBSS. She is a sociologist especially interested in contraception, abortion, sexuality, power, medicine and healthcare. She is working on the SCOPE study which is funded by the Scottish Government as part of their sexual health and blood borne virus action plan: 2023 to 2026 and seeks to co-design adaptable models for post-abortion contraception in Scotland. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs (external link) Chase Ledin LecturerDr Chase Ledin (he/him) is a Lecturer in Social Science and Medicine in the Usher Institute, specialising in critical public health, sociology, medical education, and science and technology studies (STS). Previously a Research Fellow at CBSS, his current work explores sociotechnical imaginaries of sexual health, biomedical innovation, and public health policy in Scotland. He also teaches on the MBChB degree and is course organiser for the module "Foundations of Knowledge" on the Bioethics, Law and Social Science intercalated degree. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Nandini Manjunath Arts FellowDr Nandini Manjunath (She/Her) is, as the Co-lead of Choreography of Thieya Arts, an Artistic Fellow at CBSS. A registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist, Trauma therapist, Choreographer and Lecturer in Arts Therapies at Queen Margaret University, Nandini specialises in arts-led research. In collaboration with academics at CBSS, Theiya Arts are currently working on Maiden | Mother | Whore, a multi-disciplinary mixed-media performance/exhibition that explores the complex relationships between women, social structures, health and social policies, and institutions Nandini Manjunath LinkedIn profile (external link) Find out about Theiya Arts at CBSS Carolina Mayes Research FellowDr Carolina Mayes (she/her) is a Research Fellow studying the history and contemporary influence of genetic epidemiology at the Epidemy Lab at STIS. She is broadly interested in the intersection between biomedicine and public or population health, and particularly the application of genomic technologies in personalised and stratified risk predictions. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Catherine Montgomery Senior Lecturer, Chancellors FellowDr Catherine Montgomery (she/her) is a Senior Lecturer and Chancellor’s Fellow in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies. She has expertise in the sociology of science and medicine and digital health and works on research and public engagement with CBSS. She leads the UKRI-funded project Data and the Healthcare 'Revolution' (DARE), exploring how informatics and medicine are re-shaping each other and how data-driven healthcare is changing conceptions of health, illness and personhood. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs John Nott Research FellowDr John Nott (he/him) is a Research Fellow specialising in the history of medicine at the Epidemy Lab at STIS. He is currently working on the history of biomedicine, scientific surveillance and the economisation of health in the British Empire. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Karissa Patton Interdisciplinary Research FellowDr Karissa Patton (she/her) is a historian of gender, sexuality, health, and activism and a recipient of the Wellcome Early Career Award. Her reproductive justice framework analyses the local and regional landscapes of healthcare policy, on-the-ground health services, doctor-patient relationships, and activist health models. Her current research includes work on the Pelvic Health & Public Health project, and a comparative study on the history of reproductive and sexual healthcare and activism in Canada and the UK from the late 1960s - 1980s. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Max Perry Postdoctoral Research FellowDr Max Edward Perry (He/Him) is a DARE Postdoctoral Researcher who specialises in healthcare, technologies, and bureaucracy. He is currently working on the DARE research project, investigating the role of policy in data-led/data-driven healthcare. Max wrote a PhD on medical records, and their role in clinical thought. He is interested in the relationships between bioscientific ways of thinking, healthcare bureaucracies, and the ways clinicians and patients construct knowledge. Full profile and contact details Martyn Pickersgill Co-DirectorProfessor Martyn Pickersgill (he/him) is Co-Director of CBSS and Personal Chair in the Sociology of Science and Medicine at Edinburgh Medical School. He is also Co-Director of the Wellcome PhD Programme ‘One Health Models of Disease: Science, Ethics, and Society’. Martyn works across medical sociology and science and technology studies, with additional interest in medical humanities. He is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration with biomedical and public health colleagues. Martyn’s scholarship, teaching, and engagement relate to the social dimensions of biomedicine, and in particular on the sociology of epigenetics, neuroscience, and the psy discipline Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Carol Porteous Patient Public Involvement Lead, PhD CandidateCarol Porteous is a PhD Candidate examining patient public involvement (PPI) in research. Carol also works as a Patient Public Involvement Lead in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, having worked in PPI in research for many years she is passionate about PPI and about exploring the values and value in PPI activities. She has held a variety of positions including as PPI Advisor at UCL and PPI Lead for the Research Design Service London, based at King’s College London. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Nayha Sethi Chancellor’s Fellow, Senior LecturerDr Nayha Sethi is a Senior Lecturer and Chancellor’s Fellow in Data Driven Innovation who has worked as a socio-legal research fellow on many projects. Her work explores the blurring of boundaries between, and building of responsible regulatory approaches across healthcare, research and innovation. It emphasises the importance of involving stakeholders within the development of regulatory approaches. Her work considers these topics alongside themes such as trust and social licence in data driven innovation, Artificial Intelligence, and global health emergencies. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Clare Sharp Research FellowDr Clare Sharp (she/her) is a mixed methods researcher with experience across a range of health and social research projects within government, academia and the commercial research sector. Clare joined the university to work on a qualitative study to understand the experiences and needs of female transplant patients as they journey through the organ transplantation process. Contact details Full details on research and outputs Steve Sturdy ProfessorProfessor Steve Sturdy (he/him) is Professor of the Sociology of Medical Knowledge, based in the Science Technology and Innovation Studies subject group. He has previously served as Head of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies, as Deputy Director of the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum, and as Co-Director of the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society. His research ranges broadly across the development of the biomedical sciences and medical practice from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Contact information Full details on research projects and outputs Nicola Sugden Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Nicola Sugden (She/Her) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in STIS, working on the Data and the DARE project. Nicola is a historian of medicine whose work has interrogated evolution and genetics; psychoanalysis, psychology, and psychiatry; disability, inclusion, and ethics; and reproductive technologies. She is conducting research into citizen-centred data sharing and the changing figure of the person at the centre of 'person-centred' records. Contact information and research details Laia Ventura Garcia UKRI Guarantee FellowDr Laia Ventura Garcia (she/her) is a medical anthropologist and UKRI Guarantee Fellow (following a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship). She is the Principal Investigator on The EthnoCC, an ethnographic study investigating the everyday lived experiences of early-stages cervical cancer in the UK. She has an interest and experience in infectious diseases, environmental health, cervical cancer, illness experiences, ethnography and medical anthropology. Contact details Full details on research projects and outputs Ingrid Young Senior LecturerDr Ingrid Young (she/her) is a Senior Lecturer, programme director for Bioethics, Law and Society intercalated degree (BMedSci), and teaches on the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) degree. She specialises in arts-based and participatory methods, sexual and reproductive health, HIV, biotechnologies and social justice, LGBTQ+ health, health activisms, disability and chronic health. She is currently working on a British Academic supported Doing Disability Futures project, leading on experiences of marginalized and disabled LGBTQ+ communities. Contact details Full details on research projects and outputs Students NameRoleProfile Sophie BuijsenPhD Candidate in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies Sophie Buijsen profile and contact detailsCatherine CarverPhD Candidate in Population Health SciencesCatherine Carver profile and contact detailsSarah CheungPhD Candidate in PoliticsSarah Cheung profile and contact detailsGideon Cornel MseePhD Candidate in One Health Models of DiseasesGideon Cornel Msee profile and contact detailsJorge Crespo SuarezPhD Candidate in Population Health SciencesJorge Crespo Suarez profile and contact detailsJarmo De Vries PhD Candidate in Science, Technology and Innovation StudiesJarmo De Vries profile and contact detailsHadewych HonnéPhD Candidate in Science, Technology and Innovation StudiesHadewych Honné profile and contact detailsGiorgia Kerr PhD Candidate in Social AnthropologyGiorgia Kerr profile and contact detailsCristina Moreno LozanoPhD Candidate in Science, Technology and Innovation StudiesCristina Moreno Lozano profile and contact detailsEmma NancePhD Candidate in One Health Models of DiseasesEmma nance profile and contact detailsLisa RaederPhD candidate in Population Health SciencesLisa Raeder profile and contact detailsLaila RajaniPhD Candidate in International DevelopmentLaila Rajani profile and contact detailsRuby Reed-BerendtPhD Candidate in LawRuby Reed-Berendt profile and contact detailsRebecca RichardsPhD Candidate in LawRebecca Richards profile and contact detailsVardev SachdevPhD Candidate in One Health Models of DiseasesVardev Sachdev, profile and contact detailsBeren SekerciPhD Candidate in One Health Models of DiseaseBeren Sekerci profile and contact detailsJamie WebbPhD Candidate in Medical InformaticsJamie Webb profile and contact details Professional Services NameRoleEmailPhoneProfile Jenny BosPublic Engagement and Knowledge Exchange ManagerJenny.Bos@ed.ac.ukJenny Bos profileMiriam Brand-SpencerResearch Communications and Web Officermbrands@ed.ac.ukMiriam Brand-Spencer profile Lorna ThompsonCentre for Biomedicine, Self and Society Administratorlorna.thompson@ed.ac.ukLorna Thompson ProfileAndrea WaltonPA to Professor Sarah Cunningham-Burleyawalton4@ed.ac.ukAndrea Walton profile This article was published on 2025-01-20