Join us for a collaborative experiment in Science/Art/History

Friday, 27 November 2015, 10:00-12:30
Room 2.823, Stopford Building, The University of Manchester
(Building 79 on the campus map)

The Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology was established at the University of Manchester in 1954. It has remained an internationally leading centre for the study of musculoskeletal disease throughout the last 60 years, during which time its methodology has evolved from field surveys to analyzing electronic health data from thousands of patients. Artist Nicola Dale is currently undertaking a residency within the Centre. Her focus is on the Centre’s x-ray archive, a visually stunning resource that has unique local historical interest.

Between 1950-1952, John Lawrence (the first Director of the Centre) studied the effects of physical labour on the incidence and severity of arthritis. He collected x-rays from miners at the Bedford Colliery (Wood End Pit) in Leigh, Lancashire, and compared these to x-rays of Salford dockers and road workers. Demonstrating that miners had more degenerative spinal disease, the study links the history of medicine and the experience of pain to an important chapter in the regional history of Lancashire and other coalmining areas in the UK. Funded by a Wellcome Trust ISSF Public Engagement Grant, our project brings together epidemiology, medical history and illness experiences with Nicola Dale’s sculptures, in a creative experiment around stories of work and illness, and the visual heritage of medical research. Join us on Friday, 27 November to find out more!

Speakers:

Dr Will Dixon, Director, Arthritis Research Centre for Epidemiology
Dr Carsten Timmermann, Senior Lecturer, Centre for the History of Science, Technology & Medicine
Nicola Dale, Artist in Residence, Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology

RSVP: email Andrew.D.Smith@manchester.ac.uk

All welcome!