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Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 4809 Fax: +44 (0)20 7679 8632 E-mail: s.gibbon@ucl.ac.uk Room: 240 Office hours: Thursdays 12-2 |
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MA Social Anthropology Edinburgh University, UK, 1996 MSc Medical Anthropology University College London, UK, 1998 PhD Social Anthropology, University College London, UK, 2003 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University College London ESRC 2003/4 Wellcome Trust 2004-2007 Wellcome Trust Research Fellow/Lecturer - University Award |
Research Interests
- Genomic knowledges/technologies and public health in comparative cultural arenas (especially Latin America)
- Gender, kinship, breast cancer and 'BRCA' genetics
- Biosocialities and communities of health activism
- Inter and cross-disciplinary research practices
Current Research For the past ten years my research has focused on examining the social and cultural dimensions of developments in the field of medicine described as ‘breast cancer genetics’. My doctoral research was based in the UK looking at the interface between gendered cultures of breast cancer activism and the translation of knowledge and technologies associated with two inherited susceptibility genes discovered in the 1990s - BRCA 1 and BRCA2. The results of this study, which involved ethnographic research in clinical and non clinical arenas with patients, health professionals and publics, was subsequently published in 2007 by Palgrave Macmillan in the monograph entitled Breast Cancer Genes and the Gendering of Knowledge.
Since then I have continued research in the area of BRCA genetics and breast cancer exploring the changing and dynamic relationship between 'publics' and 'scientists' in an era of (post)genomic medicine in the comparative cultural context of Cuba and more recently Brazil. My interests here include examining how and with what consequences the transnational fields of genomic medicine are being translated in diverse cultural arenas at the interface with the politics and practice of public health care. More recently I have become interested in how growing interest in genetic ancestry, human genetic variation and health disparities have begun to intersect in the context of cancer genetics. This interest forms the backdrop to a five year collaborative project I am currently undertaking in Brazil as part of a Wellcome Trust University Award examining how ancestry, identity and risk are being configured in the context of an expanding field of cancer genetic research and clinical intervention.
I have long standing interests in inter-disciplinary ways of working, both developing and reflecting on the opportunities and challenges this way of carrying out research in and on the lifesciences poses for social and natural scientists confronting novel developments in genomics. In recent years I have been involved in co-organising a number of workshops and conferences both in London and more recently in Brazil that have brought together a range of participants to explore these issues further. I remain committed to developing these conversations, to exploring and expanding the scope of cross disciplinary research and teaching.
Single authored and co-edited books
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2011 Gibbon, S., Ventura-Santos, R. and Sans, M. (eds) Racial Identities, Genetic Ancestry and Health in South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay New York, Palgrave Macmillan
2008 Gibbon, S. and Novas, C (eds) Biosocialities, Identity and the Social Sciences London, Routledge
2007 Gibbon, S. Breast Cancer Genes and the Gendering of Knowledge London, Basingstoke; Palgrave Macmillan
2006 Redclift, N and Gibbon, S Genetics: Critical Concepts in Social and Cultural Theory Major Work Series London: Routledge
Volume 1 - New Genomic Knowledge: the body, health and disease
Volume 2 - Genomic Nature(s): the environment, food and biodiversity
Volume 3 - Genomic Applications: questions of consent, ownership and control
Volume 4 - Genomic States: citizenship, diversity and governance
Single authored journal articles and book chapters
2010 ‘Family medicine, ‘La Herencia’ and breast cancer; understanding the continuities and discontinuities of predictive genetics in Cuba’ Social Science and Medicine doi: 10.1016/j.soscimed.2010.09.053
2009 ‘Genomics as public health? Community genetics and the challenge of personalised medicine in Cuba’ in Gibbon, S. & Reynolds Whyte. S. (eds) Anthropology and Medicine Special Issue: Biomedical Technology and Health Inequities in the Global North and South Volume 16 Number 2 pp 131-147
2009 ‘Comment’on ‘Color, Race, Genomic Ancestry in Brazil: Dialogues Between Anthropology and Genetics’ Santos, R.V. et al in Current Anthropology Vol 50 No 6
2008 'Charity, breast cancer activism and the iconic figure of the BRCA carrier' in Gibbon,S. & Novas,C. (eds) Biosocialities, Identity and the Social Sciences Routledge, London.
2007 'Genealogical Hybridities; the making and unmaking of blood relatives and predictive knowledge in breast cancer genetics' in Edwards, J., Wade, P., Harvey, P. (eds) Ways of Knowing; Epistemologies in Practice, Oxford; Berg
2007 ’In Dialogue with Authors’ with Lezaun, J. & Parthasarathy, S. Interview regarding publication of Breast Cancer Genes and the Gendering of Knowledge as part of ‘Books Forum’ in Journal of Biosocieties pg 459-464
2006 'Nurturing women and the BRCA Genes' Anthropology and Medicine Vol 13 No 2 August pp 157-171
2005 'Configuring the Moral in Breast Cancer Genetics; the threat and promise of patented genes' in Redclift, N. (ed) Contesting Moralities: Science, Identity, Conflict, London, UCL Press
2002 'Family Trees in clinical breast cancer genetics: re-examining geneticisation' Science as Culture Vol 11 No 4 pp 429-457
Jointly authored articles or book chapters
2010 ‘Introduction’ Gibbon, S., Joseph, G, Kalender, U. Kampriani, E., Mozersky, J., zur Nieden, A. and Palfner, S. (eds)Special Section: Perspectives on Globalizing Genomics: the case of ‘BRCA’ breast cancer research and medical practice in Journal of Biosocieties 5 407-414 doi:10.1057/biosoc.2010.36
2010 ’BRCA patients in Cuba, Greece and Germany: Comparative perspectives on public health, the state and the partial reproduction of ‘neo-liberal’ subjects’ Gibbon, S., Kampriani, E., and zur Nieden, A. in Special Section: Perspectives on Globalizing Genomics: the case of ‘BRCA’ breast cancer research and medical practice in Journal of Biosocieties 5 440- 466 doi:10.1057/biosoc.2010.28
2010 ‘Undone Science; Charting Social Movement and Civil Society Challenges to Research Agenda Setting’ Frickel, S. Gibbon,S., Howard, J., Kempner, J., Ottinger,G., & Hess, D. Science Technology and Human Values July Vol 35 , 4 pp 444-473
2009 ‘Introduction’ Gibbon, S. & Reynolds Whyte, S. (eds)in Anthropology and Medicine Special Issue: Biomedical Technology and Health Inequities in the Global North and South Volume 16 Number 2 pp 97-105
International Conferences/ Workshops organised
2010 Anthropological Perspectives on Health, Genomics, Identities in Latin America with Ricardo Ventura Santos and Jane Beltrane. Pre-event for the Association of Brazilian Anthropology, Belem, Brasil July 30th -1st August (sponsored by the British Academy-UK Caribbean Links Scheme)
2010 Comparative understanding of ‘BRCA’ breast-cancer gene research and medical practices’ IInd BRCA Network workshop, UCL London March 12th and 13th (in conjunction with the BRCA Network)
2009 Genomics, Identity and Health Symposium and Genetic Admixture and Identity and Health in South America workshop with Ricardo Ventura Santos and Monica Sans at UCL, London February 18th -21st (with support from the British Academy UK-Caribbean Links Scheme and the Wenner Gren workshop fund)
2008 The Practice and Politics of Interdisciplinary Training in Genomics Workshop at ESRC Genomics Forum, Edinburgh University (funded by the ESRC) 15th May
2006 Biosociality, Identity and the Social Sciences International Workshop with Carlos Novas (funded by the Wellcome Trust)LSE, London , February
2003 Public Engagement With Science: The Politics of the Process A Two Day Symposium. UCL, London , November with Dr Brian Balmer, Dr Gail Davies, Dr Susan Michie, Dr Saskia Sanderson.
2000 Putting Primary Prevention on the National Breast Cancer Agenda A Forum organized by the Women’s Environmental Network, House of Commons November with Helen Lynne and Diana Ward
Invited Papers and Presentations
2010 ‘Ancestry and Breast Cancer in Brazil; genetics, identity and health’ International Seminar Cancer, Women and Public Health: different views FIOCRUZ (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) Brazilian Ministry of Health, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2nd December
2010 ‘Cancer Genetics, Ancestry and Miscigenação in Southern Brazil; constituting populations and clinical need’ Paper presented at UCL Medical Anthropology Seminars, UK October 20th
2010 ‘Ancestry and Breast Cancer in Brazil; an ethnographic investigation of identity, genetic medicine and disease risk’ As part of Round Table Molecular Biology and Social Identities 27th Meeting of the Brazilian Association of Anthropology. Belem, Brazil 2010 3rd August
2010 ‘Qualitative Research and Social/Cultural Aspects of Cancer Genetics’ Course in Oncogenetics, Hospital AC Camargo, Sao Paulo, Brazil March 20th
2009 ‘Genetic Admixture and Identity in Latin America’ Sixth School of Human Genetics in Latin America organized by RELAGH Latin American Network of Human Genetics, Caixas do Sul, Brazil 9th to 15th May
2009 ‘Naturalized Kinds? BRCA genes, disease risk and breast cancer’ International Symposium Nature or Culture? A necessary debate. Institute of Catalan Anthropology, Caixa Cultural , Barcelona, Spain 25th to 27th June
2009 Genomics as Public Health? Community genetics and the challenge of personalised medicine in Cuba’ paper presented as part of Well Being Seminar Series, Anthropology Department, Goldsmiths University, London16th March
2008 ‘Being vociferous fundraisers; charity and the civics of breast cancer activism in the UK’ paper presented at Constructing/Contesting Mobilizations: Biopolitics, Activism and Identity Workshop ESRC Genomics Network Genomics, Identity and Politics Workshop Series , Lancaster University, UK June.
2008 ‘Locating and Accounting for the Traffic of Transmission in Breast Cancer Genetics’ paper presented at The Co-construction of Genetic Testing and the Family Workshop, Maastricht University, The Netherlands May 29th
2008 ‘Re-locating the ‘biosocialities’ of breast cancer genetics; a comparative perspective’ paper presented at ESRC Genomics Forum, Edinburgh April 10th
2007 ‘Towards a (Medical)Anthropology of Genomics in ‘agentive’ mode’ . Medical Anthropology Today Conference organised by the RAI, SOAS, London September 11th
2007 ‘Breast Cancer Genetics and Social Identities’ London Genetic Counsellor Forum, St George’s Hospital, Tooting Bec, London 7th March
2006 ‘Colonising Gender and Predictive Medicine; situating the subaltern subject/objects of Breast Cancer Genetics’ Social Studies of Medicine Seminar Series, McGill University, Montreal, Canada 8 March
2005 'Visibility, voice and the nurturing woman, BRCA genes and the gendering of knowledge’ Paper presented as part of Invited Session by the Society for Medical Anthropology: Anthropologies of Cancer at American Anthropological Association, Washington, USA November
2005 ‘Breast Cancer Genes, Citizenship and the Gendering of Knowledge’ Paper presented at Institute for Human Genetics and Health, Department of Biology UCL, London October
2005 ‘Breast Cancer Genes, Citizenship and the Gendering of Knowledge’ paper presented at CESAGEN, Lancaster University, October
2005 ‘Documenting Genetics: The mapping and making of inter-disciplinarity and multi-site ethnography’ Paper presented at Problems and Possibilities in Multi-site Ethnography, University of Sussex , June
2005 ‘Between knowledge and care: mobilising gender and ethics in clinical BRCA genetics’ Paper presented at Cultures of the Gene seminar series. The Ethical Gene, Risk and the Bio-Ethical Challenge Institute of Health, University of Warwick seminar series May
2005 ‘Biosocialities and the Legacy of Breast Cancer Genetics’ paper presented at the BIOS Centre, London School of Economics,UK, February
Other Presentations
2010 ‘BRCA identities, Genetic Testing, Race and Ancestry; case studies from the UK and Brazil’ with Jessica Mozersky. Paper presented part of Symposium in Honor of Nanneke Redclift. Relational knowledge and cultural identities; anthropological perspectives on nature, gender, family and nation UCL, September 30th
2010 ‘Ancestry and Breast Cancer in Brazil ; an ethnographic investigation of identity, genetic medicine and disease risk’ at workshop Anthropological Perspectives on Health, Genomics, Identities in Latin America with Ricardo Ventura Santos and Jane Beltrane. Pre-event for the Association of Brazilian Anthropology, Belem, Brasil 28th July
2010 ‘Ancestry and Breast Cancer Risk in Brazil; cancer genetics, clinical need and the non-construction of ‘racial’ identities’. Paper presented at IInd International BRCA workshop Comparative Understanding of ‘BRCA’ breast-cancer gene research and medical practices UCL, London 12th to 13th March
2009 ‘In Between prevention, prediction and public health; the shifting terrain of breast cancer genetics’ Session on Public Health Genomics: Anthropological Interventions in the Quest for Molecular Medicine. Medical Anthropology at the Intersections: Celebrating 50 Years of Interdisciplinarity. Conference for the Society for Medical Anthropology and the American Anthropological Assocation, Yale, New Haven, USA September 24th to 27th
2009 ‘Between Community Genetics and Predictive Medicine; situating the modern promise of post-genomic public health genomics in Cuba’ III Vital Politics Meeting, BIOS, LSE Londo, September
2009 ‘Genomics, Disease Risk, ‘Race’ and Identity; a new space for interdisciplinary research’ Panel on the Interface between Social and Biological Anthropology; challenges and opportunities, London Anthropology Day University College London, June
2009 ‘Breast Cancer Genetics as Public Health; comparisons between the Uk and Cuba’ paper presented at Comparative Understandings of ‘BRCA’ breast-cancer gene research and medical practices meeting Environment Policy Research Centre, Berlin, April 10th -11th
2009 ‘Becoming Interdisciplinary’ Film Presentation with Alex Calladine, Jessica Mozersky, Alan Renton, Simone Sharma and Richard Milne at the Genetic Admixture and Identity Workshop 19th to 21st February ,UCL, London
2008 ‘Genomics as Public Health? Tensions, Discontinuities and novel possibilities –the case of Breast cancer genetics in the UK and Cuba’ paper presented as part of panel on ‘Governing public health research for developing countries: the anthropology of population sciences and the evidence-based policy-making movement’ at American Anthropological Association Meeting, San Francisco, November.
2008 ‘The Bio-Social Dynamics of Breast Cancer Genetics’: comparisons between the Uk and Cuba’ in Rethinking the body: biotechnology and sociality panel convened by Gibbon, S. and Whyte, S. Experiencing diversity and Mutuality EASA Conference August, Lublijana
2008 ‘Genomics as Public Health? Tensions, Discontinuities and novel possibilities –the case of Breast cancer genetics in the UK and Cuba’ paper presented as part of panel on ‘Governing public health research for developing countries: the anthropology of population sciences and the evidence-based policy-making movement’ at American Anthropological Association Meeting, San Francisco, USA November
2008 ‘Becoming Inter-disciplinary’ with Simone Scharma, Alan Renton and Alex Calladine Film screening presentation at The Practice and Politics of Interdisciplinary Training in Genomics Workshop at ESRC Genomics Forum, Edinburgh University (funded by the ESRC) 15th May
2008 ‘Re-locating the ‘biosocialities’ of breast cancer genetics; a comparative perspective’ paper presented at ESRC Genomics Forum, Edinburgh April 10th
2008 ‘The Role of gender in relation to the attitudes and perspectives of participants in discussion of the causes of breast cancer ‘ with Beatriz Marcheco Teruel. The 7th IberoAmerican conference of Science, Technology and Gender 18th to the 21st February, Havana, Cuba Science,
2007 ‘Becoming (inter)disciplinary; experimental subjects in a genomic era’ panel on Collaboration and Interdisciplinarity Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting Montreal, Canada, October
2006 ‘ Undone Science or Science Undone; mapping the epistemic space of the ‘environment’ in breast cancer genomics’ Paper presented in the Social Anthropology Seminars, Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK January 2007 and Social Studies of Science and Society Meeting in Vancouver, November 2006
2004 'Breast Cancer Genes and the Gendering of Knowledge’ paper presented at the European Association of Social Anthropologists Meeting, Vienna, Austria, September
2004 ‘Fundraising, citizenship and redemptory knowledge’ paper presented at the Social Studies of Science and Society Meeting August, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2004 ‘Redemptory Knowledge, mobilising sentiment, activism and genetic science in breast cancer research’ Paper presented at Patient Organisations, Science and the co-production of knowledge panel at the Social Studies of Science and Society Meeting Paris, France.
2003‘‘Blood relatives’; the hybridities of kinship and knowledge in BRCA genetics’ Paper presented at 5th Decennial Conference for the Association of Social Anthropologists Manchester July
2002‘The absent body’ and ‘the dividual’: aspects of patienthood in clinical breast cancer genetics’ Paper presented at European Association for the Study of Science and Technology Annual Meeting, York, UK. July
2002‘Between Monuments, Memory and Magic: an ethnographic examination of the co-production of legitimacy in breast cancer genetic research’ Paper presented at Postgraduate Forum on Genetics and Society Nottingham University July 2001 and Genetic knowledge and Cultural Meaning workshop, UCL January 2002
Present and Previous Teaching
Course Convenor ‘Genetics and Society Core Skills Module’ as part of the MSc in Human Genetics, Genetics Institute, UCL 2009-current
‘Risk, Power and Uncertainty’ MSc course co-taught with Allen Abramson 2009
Visiting Professor. Graduate course ‘Anthropology of Science, Technology and the New Genomics’, Social Studies of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Winter Semester 2006
Convenor of Intercalated IBSc in Medical Anthropology, UCL 2003-2005
Guest Lecturer New Genetics and Society, Science and Technology Studies, UCL 2003-2004
Peer Review undertaken for
Anthropology and Medicine
Current Anthropology
Journal of Biosocieties
Journal of Science, Technology and Human Values
Journal of Genetic Testing
Journal of Community Genetics
Medical Anthropology Quarterly
Medical Anthropology; Cross Cultural Studies in Health and Illness
Public Understanding of Science,
Routledge and Berghan Publishers
Social Science and Medicine
Public Library of Science
Wellcome Trust Sci-Art Awards
Wellcome Trust Developing Country Awards
Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Awards
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
Other Professional Duties
External Examiner for MSc in Biomedicine, Bioscience and Society, BIOS, London School of Economics 2009 to present
Institute for the Study of the Americas, Associate Member, University of London
UGI UCL Genetics Institute Affiliate Member
Founding Member of the international social science BRCAnetwork
Genetics, Anthropology and Technology (GAT) (now BAC)Research Group, University College London: Co-organiser and convenor 2001-2005
Cancer Bacup, Steering Committee Member 1999-2002
Current PhD supervision
Alison Macdonald ESRC funded ’Subjectivities and therapeutic socialities: experiences of breast cancer in urban India’
Rebeca Fertrin ‘Looking inside doctors consulting rooms: the construction of menopause during the gynecologist’s appointments’ Visiting PhD research student from Department of Science and Technology Policy State University of Campinas UNICAMP, Sao Paulo, Brazil
