FRIDAY NOON SEMINARS | NOV 9 | 12H00 | MAIN AUDITORIUM
 

Description of talk:
Biomedical researchers could be more troubled by variation, particularity, or, more generally, heterogeneity. From the perspective of sociology of science, my broad contention is that research and its application are untroubled by heterogeneity to the extent that populations are well controlled. Such control can be established and maintained, however, only with considerable effort or social infrastructure, which invites more attention to possibilities for participation instead of control of human subjects. These theses are illustrated in a set of short cases, which address fluoridation in the USA, prophylactic low-dose aspirin, genomics as a biomedical revolution, PKU, "missing heritability," gene-environment interaction in behavior, and personalized medicine.

Short Biography:
Peter Taylor is a Fulbright fellow at Centro de Estudos Sociais at the University of Coimbra. He is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he directs the Graduate Program in Critical and Creative Thinking and the undergraduate Program on Science, Technology and Values. His research and writing links innovation in teaching and interdisciplinary collaboration with studies of the complexity of environmental and health sciences in their social context. This combination is evident in his 2005 book, Unruly Complexity: Ecology, Interpretation, Engagement (University of Chicago Press) and his 2012 co-authored nook, Taking Yourself Seriously: Processes of Research and Engagement (The Pumping Station).

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