I am a Science Technician and Medical Historian with a dual background in the Sciences (Chemistry, Anatomy) and the Humanities (Medical/Pharmaceutical History, Classics), which has informed my professional career and research interests in multidisciplinary research and education, natural history collections, technical treatises, and applied laboratory techniques. I qualified and worked as a chemistry technician at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany (working primarily in organic/natural product synthesis, metalloorganic chemistry, and analytical chemistry) before coming to Glasgow, where I studied History and Classics with a focus on medical history/history of science (MA dissertation on military surgery, MRes and PhD on Ancient Medicine/Pharmacy), as well as Anatomy (MSc dissertation on digitisation of historic anatomical preparations). I remain dedicated to further study and professional development, and am currently extending my chemical and biological knowledge by studying for a BSc in Natural Sciences with the Open University as well as undertaking laboratory-based training courses with the Royal Society of Biology.  

I am particularly interested in technical skill-sharing and knowledge exchange across disciplines, accessibility of educational resources, research, and heritage collections, the material culture of science and medicine, and any education or research which bridges the modern divide between the sciences and the humanities.   

My research focusses on the history of science and medicine, especially pharmaceutical history and the history of anatomy and surgery. I currently work primarily on 19th/early 20th century anatomy teaching and non-Hunterian anatomical preparations at the University of Glasgow, and on materia medica and pharmaceutical compounding in Greco-Roman and modern (18th century onwards) times, including the University’s 19th/early 20th century Stockman Materia Medica collection.  I am very interested in the potential offered by inter- and multidisciplinary research collaborations which combine modern scientific methods with historical analysis, and the role which the history of science as well as natural history collections can play in science communication and public engagement. I also maintain an interest in technical Latin treatises and the role of Latin and Ancient Greek in scientific literature, terminology, and education past and present. 

• History of Science and Medicine, especially Greco-Roman technical writing and its afterlife, collections of medical, pharmaceutical, and other practical recipes (chemical & technical instructions), pharmacopoeias, material culture of science and medicine (including natural history collections), and history of surgery, chemistry, and botany  
• Cross-disciplinary and ethnopharmacological research on historic materia medica samples, natural history collections, and archaeological container residues with a view to historic contextualisation, chemical/biological analysis, and exploring potential for drug prospecting. I was previously involved in the GRA-MS (Greco-Roman Antimicrobial Minerals, Wellcome-funded, 2016-17) Project as a Research Assistant, and would be keen to be involved in/facilitate similar projects, especially on historic anatomical collections and any projects combining historic artefacts or samples with modern analytical techniques 
• History of Anatomy, especially 18th – early 20th century specimen collections, teaching and researching anatomy at the University of Glasgow in the long 19th century, continuity and change in anatomical illustration styles, anatomy in Greco-Roman and Neo-Latin scientific texts, and the development and etymology of anatomical terminology 
• Incorporating the history of science and medicine in public engagement and outreach activities and scientific/medical education, including the role of the medical humanities in the medical curriculum and highlighting the role of scientific analysis in heritage and archaeological research and conservation 
• Care and conservation of collections, especially fluid-preserved anatomical/natural history preparations and materia medica collections 
• Using medical visualisation and digital technology to facilitate and enhance the use of preparations (historic and modern, including microscopic/histological slides) in teaching and public engagement 

With the caveat that I am not a PI or academic supervisor, please do feel free to contact me if you have any ideas for/interest in collaboration, knowledge exchange, or public engagement involving medical/scientific history, or with any research/technical questions that I might be able to answer.  

List by: Type | Date

2023/24 

• BDS3 Anatomy (Head & Neck) – Dissection manual creation support

2022/23 

• BDS Year 3 – Anatomy (Head & Neck) 
• BSc Anatomy, L3 Head & Neck Labs 
• BDS 2 – Trigeminal Nerve Lab 

Previous 

• Honours Ancient Medicine Module (Arts & MVLS Students)
• History of Medicine SSC – Ancient Pharmacy Guest Tutorial 
• Classical Civilisations 1A (in person & BOLD) & 1B (BOLD) Tutor 
• Latin 1A Tutorials 
• Latin IC Tutorials (Translation (Verse) - Virgil, Aeneid Book 6)