Oxford Interdisciplinary Microbiome Project (IMP)

23 November 2016
IMP

InSIS is participating in the Oxford Interdisciplinary Microbiome Project (IMP), a new incubator initiative of the University’s Social Sciences Division that will explore new understandings of microbial life and the social and public policy implications of new microbionomic knowledge.

Our ability to map previously invisible forms of microbial life in and around us is forcing us to rethink the biological constitution of the world, and the position of humans vis-a-vis other forms of life. IMP brings together researchers from Anthropology, Geography and History of Medicine to develop an interdisciplinary research agenda on the microbiome and its implications.

IMP will focus on six research themes:

  • ‘Post-Pasteurian’ and pro-biotic forms of healthcare and environmental management;
  • The distribution of the benefits, risk and responsibilities of microbiome research and subsequent interventions;
  • Rethinking social connection, mobility and community as mediated by microbes;
  • The ownership of microbial data and microbial life forms;
  • Conceptualizations of human specificity after the microbial turn;
  • New communities of microbial expertise and DIY microbiome interventions.

The project will be publicly launched on January 19, with a public lecture by Ed Yong, author of the book I Contain Multitudes. Further details of the project and its activities will be available soon.

For more information, contact Javier Lezaun.