Biomedicine on Display

A three-year Ph.D. scholarship has been announced at Medical Museion, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The scholarship is part of the research project ‘Vision and touch: a material history of the world of blindness’, which deals with the history of blindness and its intricate relation to vision, representation, touch and physical objects.

The aim of the project is to study the history of blindness from a material culture perspective. This will be done through the use of Medical Museion’s historical collection of artefacts related to visual impairment. Objects such as three-dimensional maps, choral books in Braille and palpable models of famous statues and buildings, point in a very concrete way to a world in which vision has ceased to prevail. Besides bearing witness of the daily routines at the medical and pedagogical institutions for the blind, the material heritage of blindness stresses the cultural tension in contemporary Western society between vision in all its abundant technologies and touch as a socially restrained mode of experience.

The project combines a historical viewpoint with a museum studies approach. The Ph.D. part of the project can, for instance, relate to questions concerning blindness and the cultural history of the senses and blindness, artefacts and touch from the perspective of museum studies.

The formal announcement can be found here. Deadline for applications is 1 September 2011. For further information contact Jan Eric Olsén, jeon@sund.ku.dk.

Science Museum in London announces two short-term Visiting Research Fellowships, 2011-2012. The Science Museum very large collection relating to the history of science, technology and medicine.  They welcome proposals for any topic which makes good use of the museum’s collections. The fellowships are available to both established scholars and newly qualified PhDs. The stipend will be £1,600 per month for a maximum of three months, covering travel, accommodation and subsistence and up to £500 will be available for attendance at a conference in connection with the fellowship. The successful candidate’s institution has to accept the stipend to cover the Fellow’s leave of absence. The fellowship shall take place between August 2011 and March 2012. Send CV and a covering letter with a brief explanation of why this research is appropriate for this Fellowship, and the names and addresses of two academic referees + outline of the proposed research, not to exceed two pages of A4, with a timetable for its completion and proposals for the dissemination of the research. Applicants should send a copy of their application to their chosen referees before submission, asking their referees to comment on the professional knowledge of the applicant and the contribution the proposed research would make to scholarship. They should tell their referees to send their references to the email address below by Friday 8th July 2011. As there may not be formal interviews, applicants should ensure that they provide all the information needed to make a decision. The deadline for applications is Friday 1st July 2011; send them to peter.morris@nmsi.ac.uk. No applications will be accepted by mail. They hope to inform the successful candidates by email by 22nd July 2011. More info from Peter Morris at peter.morris@nmsi.ac.uk.

Medical Museion is looking for a new academic member of staff who would like to develop our web-based biomedical science communication. You must have a science background (medicine, human biology, biochemistry etc.) + experience with, and interest in, web-based communication, especially through social web media. You must be able to communicate in both English and Danish. See the announcement here: http://www.museionblog.dk/vi-s%c3%b8ger-en-specialist-i-webbaseret-forskningskommunikation.

The NIH Office of History has just announced a new batch of Stetten Fellowship for postdoctoral historical research on the biomedical sciences and technology since 1945. The stipends are ~$45,000 per year, include health insurance and office accommodation, computer and phone, and can be renewable to a maximum of 24 months. Application deadline is 31 December 2010. Full announcement here.

Just got an email saying that the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim has announced a postdoc position to study “the production of images of the interior of the human body on the cellular level”. See more about the background for the project here: The salary is splendid: 438.500 NKK annually. More info from Merete Lie, merete.lie@ntnu.no. Deadline is 20 June, 2010.

The Wellcome Library is announcing a vacancy as Head of Discovery and Engagement. The successful applicant is supposed to play a pivotal role in making the Library’s outstanding collections accessible, help revolutionise the Library’s web presence and reading-room services, and lead its outreach, communication and marketing activities. For more info, see here. Closing date is 10 May.

We have just started a search for 1-2 positions at the level of Associate Professor (alternatively Assistant Professor).

As readers of this blog probably knows, Medical Museion is an integrated research and museum unit for promoting medical science communication based on the material and visual medical heritage. The research profile is centered around the contemporary history of the biomedical sciences, medical science communication studies, and studies of the production of the material and visual medical scientific heritage. We have a world-class collection of historical medical artefacts and images, an active program for the acquisitioning and preservation of the contemporary biomedical and biotechnological heritage, a permanent medical-historical public gallery, and an innovative temporary exhibition program.

We are looking for two new members of faculty to contribute to our integrated research, teaching, heritage and outreach programme focussing on late 20th century and contemporary medical and health sciences in a cultural, aesthetic and historical perspective. The aim of the programme is to develop new modes of research-based collecting, exhibition making and web-based outreach by combining scientific content, cultural interpretation and aesthetic expression in innovative ways.

On the outreach side, we are developing research-based science communication practices for a variety of audiences – spanning from health professionals to the general public – in the form of exhibitions and web products, and with special attention to the aesthetics of science communication.

On the acquisition side, we are in the process of developing research-based curatorial practices (heritage production) in close cooperation with research institutions, hospitals, pharma, biotech and medical device companies, and patient organisations in the region (‘museum 2.0’) .

The appointees are required to do research at an international level and research-based teaching, however most of teaching obligations are substituted with museum work.

Read the official full job description below.
Continue Reading »

Science Museum in London is again announcing opening for Visiting Research Fellowships (£16,000 for eight months) and Short-Term Research Fellowship (£2,000 per month for a maximum of three months), both between May 2010 and May 2011) — see here or contact Peter Morris at peter.morris@nmsi.ac.uk. Deadline for applications (to Peter) is Friday 26 February.

We have just recruited Morten Hillgaard Bülow as a PhD candidate. The three-year stipend is financed by the new interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen. The Center was established last year with a budget of 300 mill. DKK for a five-year period — and a smallish amount of the total will be used for studies of healthy ageing science communication in a museum context here at Medical Museion.

Morten’s project is titled “A genealogical study of the concept of ’successful aging’ and its relation to the idea of ‘human enhancement’”. More specifically, the project will investigate how the notion of ‘successful aging’ has been understood and defined in the field of neuroscience over the last decades, and how ‘successful cognitive aging’ has played together with discussions about the possibility for so called ‘cognitive enhancement’. Morten will present the project in our seminar series in January and more details will also appear here on the blog.

By the way, Morten is not a newcomer to Medical Museion. Four years ago he spent a couple of months with us as part of his studies in history and philosophy at Roskilde University (where he earned his MA last year) to work out a ‘value strategy’ for us. Welcome back to Medical Museion, Morten!

(soon I’ll present our new postdoc — stay tuned!)

The Hunterian Museum in Glasgow is looking for a new director. More here.

In the last two years, the Office of History at the National Institutes of Health has grown and changed into one of the major players in studies of contemporary history of biomedicine. In 2007 the Office got a new director, Robert Martensen who has a combined medical and historical background; last year, historian of 20th century cancer research, David Cantor, was recruited as Deputy Director and Senior Research Historian; and not long time ago they launched a new website (pretty NIH’ish look, but fills the necessary informative function well).

Martensen and Cantor are also expanding the postdoc programme. Currently, seven postdocs are associated with the Office — Eric Boyle (history of alternative and complementary medicine at NIH); Todd Olszewski (history of risk factors in terms of cholesterol and cardiovascular health); Laura Stark (history of NIH policies in ethics of human subject research); Doogab Yi (history of NIH research in cancer viruses); Chin Jou (history of obesity); Brian Casey (NIH, neurophysiology, and criminal culpability); Sharon Ku (nanotechnology and cancer).

And now they looking for #8, with a nicely vague mandate:

The Fellow will conduct research on topics of their choice under the supervision of senior staff of the Office of NIH History and assisted by contacts in the relevant Institute(s). The Fellow will be expected to participate in historical activities on campus, including presentation of one or more seminars and lectures.

Deadline 31. december — more info here.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is announcing a job as heritage manager. The succesful incumbent shall lead a team of professional staff and will be responsible for the operation and development of the College’s museums and library including collections, exhibitions, archives, members’ services and the College’s historic buildings. Closing date is 2 October. More info here.

Medical Museion, University of Copenhagen, invites applications for a 3-year PhD/2-year postdoc position in the projekt ‘Communicative barriers between biomedical research and everyday health care in a museum context’:

The increasingly important role of biomedical knowledge and advanced medical technologies in Western health systems is a challenge to the public communication of and engagement with medicine, especially in science, technology and medical museums. This project aims to develop the understanding of the means through which esoteric biomedical and medico-technological knowledge and practices can be communicated to lay people in a museum exhibition context, with special emphasis on the use of material and visual cultural practices. The project is expected to help construct new physical and web-based exhibition and display practices for science, technology and medical museums.

Medical Museion is an integrated research and museum institution that focuses on the public engagement with the contemporary biomedical sciences. We are especially interested in the interface between biomedicine, material and visual studies, museum studies and studies of the participatory web. See www.corporeality.net/museion.

The salary level for a PhD-candidate in Denmark is 295,000 DKK (approx. € 39,600/ £ 34,000) p.a.

The salary levels for a postdoc is 370,000 DKK (approx. € 50,000 / £ 42,000) p.a. upwards (depending on earlier experience).

The position is part of a larger cross-faculty research program ‘Dissemination and Innovation: Health in Everyday Life’, which in turn is part of a newly established Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen (see http://healthyaging.ku.dk).

Applications for the postdoc level shall include CV and publication list; short description of background and motivation for choosing this research project; project description (max. 5 pages); and copies of degrees.

Application for the PhD level shall include a CV; short project proposal (max. 2 pages); academic transcripts; and copies of degrees.

Deadline is 1 September, 2009 at 14.00. Applications must be submitted electronically and in print (4 copies) to:

Assoc. prof. Lene Otto
Section of Ethnology, the SAXO Institute
Faculty of Humanities, Njalsgade 80
DK-2300 Copenhagen, Denmark
lotto@hum.ku.dk

Further information can be obtained from Professor Thomas Söderqvist, ths@sund.ku.dk, or +45 2875 3801.

For the full text of the announcement in context, see http://healthyaging.ku.dk/vacancies.

To strengthen their web presence, the people at Wellcome Collection are looking for an experienced web editor who is expected to have (among other things) experience as lead editor of a website related to museums, galleries, or exhibitions + and, more significantly, interest in managing content on the ‘extended web’, i.e. Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc., and (I like this phrase) “in scoping and developing the tone of voice of a blog”. Application deadline is 22 April 2009, and the salary is acceptable (35.000 GBP + benefits). More info here: www.wellcome.ac.uk/jobs. A golden opportunity for anyone who wants to develop the participatory web dimension of Wellcome Collection. Rumours say they are particularly interested to hear from people “fired up by the content of Wellcome Collection”.

Research animals in the history of 20th century biomedicine has received quite a lot of attention in recent years. And what animal is more interesting than the pig! Our colleagues in Health Services Research Unit here in Copenhagen are announcing a three-year position as PhD-student in a new research project, headed by Lene Koch, called “Modelling pigs and humans: Understanding human/animal connections in translational research”. The general aim of the project is to “investigate the moral, socio-material, technical and organisational work that is needed in order to establish the pig as locus of producing knowledge about human life and disease”. The PhD student they are looking for right now is expected to work on a subproject titled “Extending life: The use of transgenic (humanised) pigs as disease models in biomedical research and treatment” which addresses

the social dimensions and epistemic aspirations of the emerging field of translational medicine within selected biomedical research areas. Specifically, the moral, socio-material organisational and scientific work performed to establish the pig as a potential for modelling human organs and/or functions in research settings and in patient treatment.

Sounds like a great project and a great opportunity for an exciting PhD project. Contact Lene Koch (koch@pubhealth.ku.dk) for further details.

(the pig above — from Struve Labs that produce pigs for pig-huma-tranplants — has no relation to Lene’s project)