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
Tel No
0113 3437380
Name
Professor Andrew Webster
CoSupervisor
School
University
E-Mail
Sociology and Social Policy
Leeds
e.a.kerr@leeds.ac.uk
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
Fax No
Anne Kerr
01133434415
Tel No
E-Mail
0113 343 7380
e.a.kerr@leeds.ac.uk
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