History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group explained

History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group
Abbreviation:HoMBRG
Type:Historical research body
Parent Organization:Queen Mary University of London
Former Name:History of Twentieth Century Medicine Group

The History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group (HoMBRG) is an academic organisation specialising in recording and publishing the oral history of twentieth and twenty-first century biomedicine. It was established in 1990 as the Wellcome Trust's History of Twentieth Century Medicine Group,[1] and reconstituted in October 2010 as part of the School of History [2] at Queen Mary University of London.[3] [4] [5]

History

The project originated as The Wellcome Trust's History of Twentieth Century Medicine Group, and later functioned as the Academic Unit of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. It was originally established at the Royal College of Physicians in 1990 and comprised Sir Christopher Booth (the Harveian Librarian) and Professor Tilli Tansey.[6] Its purpose was to devise ways of stimulating historians, scientists & clinicians to discuss, preserve and write the history of recent biomedicine. The Group's activities were originally overseen by a Programme Committee, which included professional historians of medicine, practising scientists and clinicians.[7] From 2000 to 2010 it was a constituent part of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London. In October 2010 it moved to the School of History, Queen Mary's University, London. In 2011 the Group received a Strategic Award from the Wellcome Trust to embark upon a new project, "Makers of Modern Biomedicine".[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Outputs

An archive of oral and written history, plus videoed interviews, has been compiled by the HoMBRG and consists of three projects: Witness Seminars, Today's Neuroscience, Tomorrow's History and SAD at 30. All material and documentation related to the project is deposited with the Wellcome Library. The resultant publications are open access,[13] and made freely available online via the HoMBRG website, a partnership with the Medical Heritage Library,[14] and iTunes.[15]

The topics covered by the archive fall broadly into five themes: clinical genetics,[16] neuroscience, global health and infectious diseases, medical technologies and ethics of research and practice.

Resources from the archive are online at The History of Modern Biomedicine Archive[17] and the internet archive[18]

Today's Neuroscience, Tomorrow's History

The Group's 'Today's Neuroscience, Tomorrow's History' initiative (2006–2008) was funded by a Wellcome Trust Public Engagement grant. It recorded interviews on three themes, neuropharmacology, psychiatry/neuropsychology, and neuroimaging, with twelve neuroscientists, including Geoffrey Burnstock, Salvador Moncada, Michael Rutter and Uta Frith.[19]

The Witness Seminars

A series of witness seminars began in 1993, with regular meetings being held, about four per year. These recorded the voices of those who have contributed, in diverse ways, to the development of modern biomedicine, using oral history methodology. The aim is to make the series widely available for education, research and outreach purposes.[20] [21] [22] [23] [24] The results are published online,[25] with most edited transcripts appearing within 18 months.[20]

Witness Seminar participants have included Usama Abdulla, Thomas Brown, Professor Dugald Cameron, Professor Stuart Campbell, John Fleming, Professor John MacVicar, Professor Peter Wells, Dr James Willocks, Sir Douglas Black, Sir John Gray, Sir Raymond Hoffenberg, Dr Sheila Howarth, Professor Peter Lachmann, Sir Patrick Nairne, Professor Sir Stanley Peart, Dr Peter Williams and Professor Anthony PM Coxon.[26]

Each witness seminar is transcribed and published by HoMBRG.[27] Recent volumes have been edited by E M Jones, C Overy and E M Tansey. there are 62 Volumes.[28] Titles include The Development of Brain Banks, Narrative Medicine; Migraine; The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles;[29] and The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)[30] The publication of these works are often referred to by specialists in their fields of medical practice.[31]

The first two volumes were reviewed in Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in 1999, with the comment, "Few books are so intellectually stimulating or uplifting."[32] Reviewing the series in the British Medical Journal in 2002, medical historian Irvine Loudon wrote, "This is oral history at its best...all the volumes make compulsive reading...they are, primarily, important historical records[33]

In 2014 a seminar, chaired by Professor Sir Brian Follett, with Norman Rosenthal and Alfred Lewy, entitled 'The Recent History of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): 30 Years of SAD' was undertaken on the topic of Seasonal Affective Disorder.[34] This resulted in a number of podcasts,[15] and Volume 51 of the Witness Seminar publications.[35]

Clips and Conversations

In 2015 the Group began producing oral history interviews with notable scientists and clinicians. This material is made freely available on YouTube (in the case of video interviews) and the Group's website, as are the transcripts of both audio and video interviews.[36]

Wikidata

As the HoMBRG project came to an end, a Wikimedian in Residence was engaged, to create Wikidata records for the publications and those people interviewed in them.[37]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The MHL Welcomes a New Content Contributor. 13 March 2013. Medical Heritage Library. 6 May 2017.
  2. Web site: Research Centres - School of History. www.history.qmul.ac.uk. 11 May 2017.
  3. Web site: Trust. Wellcome. History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group celebrates 21 years of innovation.
  4. http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/hss/140113.htm
  5. Web site: Trust. Wellcome. History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group celebrates 21 years of innovation. . 29 May 2015. none.
  6. Aronson. Jeff . Wellcome witnesses to twentieth-century medicine . Cambridge Journal Medical History . July 1998 . 42 . 3 . 404–405 . 1044055 . 10.1017/s0025727300064188.
  7. Web site: Pickstone. John V.. A brief history of medical history. Making History. 31 May 2015.
  8. Web site: Hidden voices and human stories. The Physiological Society. 29 May 2015.
  9. Web site: Wellcome Library Encore -- History+of+Biomedicine+Research+Group.+. search.wellcomelibrary.org. 11 May 2017.
  10. Web site: Five-year, £1.4 million project to reveal "unsung heroes" of biomedicine. 31 January 2012. Culture24. 6 May 2017.
  11. Web site: News & Events. Genetics and Medicine Historical Network. Cardiff University. 6 May 2017 . The History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group, based at Queen Mary, University of London, continue to build upon their work documenting the recent history of clinical genetics research and practice. .
  12. Web site: Pioneering work in biomedicine celebrated. 25 August 2015. University of Surrey. 6 May 2017.
  13. Web site: Medical Humanities. Centre for. New Open Access Publication – The Development of Narrative Practices in Medicine c.1960–c.2000. 30 January 2015. . 31 May 2015. none.
  14. Web site: Library. Medical History. The MHL Welcomes a New Content Contributor. Medical History Library. Medical History Library. 29 May 2015. none.
  15. Web site: Today's Neuroscience, Tomorrow's History - Professor Sir Peter Mansfield - Free Podcast by Queen Mary University of London on Apple Podcasts. Apple Podcasts. 11 May 2017.
  16. News: Historical Network. Genetics and Medicine. The History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group, based at Queen Mary, University of London, continue to build upon their work documenting the recent history of clinical genetics research and practice. 31 May 2015. Cardiff University. none.
  17. Web site: The History of Modern Biomedicine. Queen Mary, University of London. 31 May 2015.
  18. Web site: Internet Archive Search: Publisher%3A%22London%3A the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group at UCL%22.
  19. Web site: About Today's Neuroscience, Tomorrow's History. HoMBRG. 11 May 2017.
  20. Book: Jones. E.M.. Tansey. E.M.. Monoclonal Antibodies to Migraine: Witnesses to Modern Biomedicine, An A-Z. 2014. Queen Mary, University of London. London. 978-0-90223-895-4. 223. none. en.
  21. Web site: Migraine: Diagnosis, Treatment and Understanding - Migraine - Patient. patient.info. 11 May 2017.
  22. Jones. Emma M.. 2016. A witness seminar on the history of the Human Gene Mapping Workshops. Gene. 589. 2. 123–126. 0378-1119. 10.1016/j.gene.2016.02.030. 4925380. 26906256.
  23. Web site: An Oral History of Waste Management by University Historians in London. Messenger. Ben. 15 January 2016. Waste Management World. 6 May 2017.
  24. Tansey. T . A. . Wilkinson . A. . Yabsley . A. . Zarros . 2016. Physiology at the heart of modern biomedicine: Evidence through oral testimonies. Proceedings of the Physiological Society. The Physiological Society. 37.
  25. Book: Routledge. 978-1-134-70170-4. McConville. Sean. Bryson. Anna. The Routledge Guide to Interviewing: Oral History, Social Enquiry and Investigation . 2013 . 149.
  26. Web site: Young. Jacy. New Neuroscience & Applied Psych History Resources. Advances in the History of Psychology. 31 May 2015. none.
  27. Web site: MHL Partner History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group Celebrates 21st Anniversary – Medical Heritage Library.
  28. Web site: Wellcome Witnesses Volumes . History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group . 2015-05-31.
  29. Web site: Social Research. NatCen. The story of Natsal, the nation's sex study. NatCen Social Research. 31 May 2015. none.
  30. Web site: Study of Parents and Children. Avon Longitudinal. Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. . 31 May 2015. none.
  31. Web site: History of palliative medicine in the UK. International. www.ehospice.com. 11 May 2017.
  32. Blau. J N. 1999. Wellcome Witnesses to Twentieth Century Medicine, Vols 1 and 2. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 92. 4. 206–8. 10.1177/014107689909200416. free. 1297150.
  33. Loudon. I.. 2002. Book: Wellcome Witnesses to Twentieth Century Medicine. BMJ. 325. 7372. 1119a–1119. 0959-8138. 10.1136/bmj.325.7372.1119/a. 62682494.
  34. Web site: Association. SAD. Wellcome Trust Wtness Seminar:An Important New Publication. SAD Association. 31 May 2015. none.
  35. Book: Overy. C. Tansey. E.M.. The Recent History Of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 2014. Queen Mary, University of London. London. 978-0-90223-897-8. 29 May 2015. none. en.
  36. Web site: Makers of Modern Biomedicine: Testimonies and Legacy. 29 January 2017. Oral History in Higher Education Network. 16 May 2017.
  37. Web site: Introducing Wikimedian in Residence, Mr Andy Mabbett. 2 May 2017. HoMBRG. 16 May 2017. 9 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170509071712/http://www.histmodbiomed.org/blog/introducing-wikimedian-residence-mr-andy-mabbett. dead.

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