Research
How might science inform sociology, and sociology inform science? How are they already entangled, and what insights and resources are made available by actively entangling them? My research traces the diffraction patterns produced in the transdisciplinary bridging of science and sociology. I focus on philosophical questions concerning the ontologies and epistemologies of biology as well as on interrogating and advancing public understandings of science and knowledge translation.
Dissertation Project
“Laboratory Lives of Afterbirths: Placentas as Working Objects of Study”
By way of a science studies approach which takes the ‘laboratory lives’ of tissues (biopsies, samples, tissue cultures) as a serious topic of sociological analysis, I am researching the use of human and animal placental tissues as objects of study in diverse fields including immunology, prenatal and maternal health, and tissue engineering. (This research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.)
Collaborative Projects
Survey of Women’s Perspectives on Placental Donation in Campinas, Brazil / Opinião de mulheres a respeito da doação de placenta para pesquisa em Campinas-SP, Brasil
Under a Canada-Brazil Awards: Joint Projects initiative training and exchange program, beginning January 2012 I am spending 6 months in Campinas, Brazil conducting a survey of women’s perspectives on donating their placentas for scientific research. Placentas are integral to the conduct of scientific research on pregnancy, yet women’s views on the use of their placenta in research have not been systematically studied. This research will begin to address this gap. Ethical protocols for collecting and using placentas, as well as pregnancy research in general, may be made more responsive, efficient, and appropriate with insights from this research. Collaborators: Drª. Maria José Duarte Osis (Cemicamp/Unicamp), Profº. Dr. José Guilherme Cecatti (Unicamp), Profº. Dr. Aureo Yamada (Unicamp), Ms. Simony Lira do Nascimento (Unicamp)
Other Projects
“The Barker Hypothesis and Obesity”
An exploration of the ways in which the Barker hypothesis is a resource for transdisciplinary collaboration between sciences and social sciences in the study of disease, lifestyle, life course, generation, social determinants of health, nutrition, and development, with a focus on obesity.
Sobre Minhas Pesquisas
Como socióloga eu estudo ciência e, especificamente, estudo ciência da placenta. Pode ser surpreendente descobrir que, do ponto de vista da ciência, a placenta tem várias utilidades. É claro que a placenta é estudada extensivamente em biologia reprodutiva, por que é fundamental para a gravidez e pode ser determinante para os resultados da gravidez. Mas também é necessário estudar a placenta a partir do referencial de outros campos além da biologia reprodutiva, porque se trata de um tecido grande, amplamente disponível, muitas vezes considerado “lixo,” e que tem diversas propriedades interessantes. Tem uma grande variedade de aplicações científicas em muitos campos como imunologia, pesquisa do câncer, toxicologia e engenharia de tecidos. Por isso, placentas são regularmente coletadas em hospitais de todo o mundo e utilizadas em experiências científicas. Todas as minhas pesquisas se concentram nas práticas de doação, coleta e utilização da placenta para fins científicos.
