UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies

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Brendan Clarke

Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Medicine

Contact

b.clarke@ucl.ac.uk

Room 2.1, 22 Gordon Square

Office hours: Monday 2-3pm, Tuesdays 12-1pm (or by appointment)

ext: 37132

telephone: 0207 679 37132

http://twitter.com/#!/philmedman

Current teaching

• HPSC1010 Revealing Science
  
• HPSC2020 Philosophy of Medicine
  
• HPSC3004 / HPSC3026 Dissertation / Intercalated Research Project
• HPSC3028 Advanced Topics in Philosophy of Medicine
  

I'm also a year 2 personal tutor, as well as the Intercalated BSc liaison tutor.

Research

I'm interested in the history and philosophy of the life sciences. In particular:

• viral causation of cancers (PhD topic)
• classifications (causal or otherwise) in the life sciences
• evidence based medicine
• history and philosophy of anatomical illustrations
• synthetic biology

More information about my research is available here. You can also find my PhD thesis (title: Causality in medicine with particular reference to the viral causation of cancers) here and a review by Raffaella Campaner at dissertationreviews.org.

Publications

Clarke B, Gillies D, Illari P, Russo F, Williamson J. 2012. The evidence that evidence-based medicine omits. Preventive Medicine. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.10.020.

View in PubMed.

Clarke, B. 2012. "Causation in Medicine" in Gonzalez, W.J. (ed). 2012. Conceptual Revolutions: from Cognitive Science to Medicine. La Coruna: Netbiblo.

View full text.

Clarke, B. 2011. Causation and Melanoma Classification. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics. 32(1): 19-32.

View in PubMed.

Sharma, A., Machen, K., Clarke, B., Howard, D. 2006. Is Undergraduate Otorhinolaryngology Teaching Relevant to Junior Doctors Working in Accident and Emergency Departments? The Journal of Laryngology & Otology. 120: 949-51.
View in PubMed.

Recent Conference Papers

AHRC Symposium on evidence-based medicine. Evidence and causality in the sciences conference 6th September 2012. University of Kent.

Slides [109kB PDF]

The Epstein-Barr virus, Burkitt's lymphoma, and the development of the herpes heuristic. Three Societies Meeting 12th July 2012. University of Pennsylvania.

Slides [387kb PDF]

Cervical cancer: a tale of two viruses. Invited seminar at the Institute of Cancer Research 21st June 2012.

Slides [350kb PDF]

What is Life? Synthesis exchange laboratory 4th-9th July 2011. UCL.

Revisiting Charles Bell’s Medical Images: A Plurality of Representative Practices British Society for the History of Science annual conference 14th-17th July 2011. University of Exeter.

Abstract [259kB PDF]

Produced in collaboration with Chiara Ambrosio

Charles Bell at UCL: Medical Images, Representative Practices and the Aims of Integrated HPS
Department of Science and Technology Studies, UCL
Sixth Annual UK Workshop on Integrated History and Philosophy of Science. Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, 18th April 2011.

Produced in collaboration with Chiara Ambrosio

Classifications of melanoma
3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice
University of Exeter
22nd—24th June 2011

Clarke_SPSP2011_abstract [252kB PDF]

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UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS)
0207 679 1328 office | +44 207 679 1328 international
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