Dr Vanessa Heggie is a historian of modern science and medicine, with a particular interest in the history of nineteenth and twentieth century biomedical and life sciences. She also dabbles in the philosophy of science.
Vanessa has published books on the history of exploration and physiology, and on sports medicine, and many articles and chapters on a range of topics from Victorian nursing and public health to the lab/field divide in science. Vanessa is currently working on the history of evolution, race science and climate change.
Vanessa has been awarded a range of fellowships and awards, including a Mellon Teaching Fellowship, and a Visiting Fellowship from the Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science; she has won grants from the Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, British Academy and Isaac Newton Trust.
Vanessa is a keen advocate of Public Engagement, and for five years blogged for the Guardian about the history of science and medicine.
You can hear her talking about her latest book on the Time to Eat the Dogs podcast, debating her research on sports doping and ethics at the London School of Economics, discussing the awkward history of research in antarctica at International Metabolism Day in Copenhagen, or talking about the history of body building on BBC Radio 4’s You’re Dead To Me programme.
Vanessa is also the director of the Cold Lab. The Cold Lab is a virtual teaching laboratory supporting student research projects that are interdisciplinary or humanities-led. Studying cold as a biomedical, geographical, social and cultural object it considers the cold we experience, the cold we imagine, and the cold we’ve lost, from the hopes of cryogenic preservation to the fears of climate change.
The Cold Lab aims to connect both undergraduate and postgraduate students with research mentors and supervisors. If you are interested in getting involved, or have an idea for a project – whether you’re a current student or a staff member organising a module or a programme – please get in touch.