ESRC White Rose DTC Network Studentships

Session 2012-2013 - Closing Date 3 February 2012

Further information on the application procedure can be found at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/rsa/postgraduate_scholarships/esrc-info

Project Title

/ Bioscience and the Ageing Society

Network

/ Rethinking the social production, locus and impact of bioscience
Principal Supervisor / Name / Professor Anne Kerr / School
University / Sociology and Social Policy
Leeds
Tel No / 0113 3437380 / E-Mail /

Co-Supervisor

/ Name / Professor Andrew Webster / Dept/School
University / SATSU/Sociology
York
Project Description
This studentship will explore a key dimension of the ‘age of bioscience’, namely the ways in which the biosciences are approaching the ageing society: tracking their ideas of and approaches to quality of life across the lifecourse and reflecting on the implications of this work for wider social understanding of ageing and illness and the provision of health and social care. Bringing a sociological approach to an important strategic priority to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Research Councils UK, the study will focus upon research on ageing in areas such as systems biology, comparative genomics /proteomics and tissue engineering as well as their contribution to larger interdisciplinary projects aimed at enhancement of the healthspan via biopharmaceuticals, regenerative therapies and devices.
Objectives
The studentship will explore the ways in which ageing is being framed in leading fields of contemporary bioscience, including, their points of intersection and their social, cultural and political implications .
The main objectives will be:
1. To provide a sociological account of the rise of ageing research in the biosciences and their scientific, industry and policy networks.
2. To focus on points of convergence /tension around ideas and approaches to quality of life across the lifecourse, healthspan/ lifespan, and normal/pathological ageing.
2. To explore the implications of these approaches for the individual (as citizen/ patient) and wider society, particularly with respect to the provision of social and health care.
Entry Requirements
Masters in Science and Technology Studies or relevant social science discipline

Further Details Contact

/

Name

/

Anne Kerr

/

Tel No

/

0113 343 7380

Fax No

/

01133434415

/

E-Mail

/
Bibliography/References
Clarke, A. et al (2003) ‘Biomedicalization: Technoscientific Transformations of Health, Illness, and U.S. Biomedicine’, American Sociological Review 68: 161-94; Keating, Peter & Alberto Cambrosio ( 2003) Biomedical Platforms Realigning the Normal and the Pathological in Late Twentieth-century Medicine (Cambridge MA: MIT Press); BBSRC Strategic Plan ‘The Age of Bioscience’ http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/publications/planning/strategy/strategic-plan-index.aspx

Rdscommo/schol/home-eu/rescounc/esrc/sess2012/ESRCWRDTCProjectForm-KerrA