Doctoral Dissertation Research: An Historical and Philosophical Examination of the Use of the Nematode C. Elegans as a Model Organism

这项研究将构建一个模式生物秀丽线虫的历史案例研究，以阐明生物医学科学基础上的一般哲学和历史问题。尽管有基于重要案例研究的关于控制生物选择因素的不断发展的历史文献，但很少有工作追踪围绕线虫选择和发展的历史和科学因素，尽管线虫作为一个非常成功的研究计划的焦点已经取得了突出的成就。此外，生物学家在生物实践中对“模式有机体”一词的使用及其历史发展和认识论基础还没有得到广泛的探讨。该项目将研究“蠕虫项目”的目标、动机和发展，以及将线虫作为模式生物的使用。利用这一案例研究，将建立一个哲学框架，在这个框架内，可以更好地理解在生物学和医学中使用模型生物的认识论层面。

This research will construct an historical case study of the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, in order to illuminate general philosophical and historical issues at the foundations of the biomedical sciences. Although there is a developing historical literature on factors governing organismal choice based on important case studies, little work has been done to trace historical and scientific factors surrounding the choice and development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a so-called model organism despite the prominence it has achieved as the focus of a highly successful research program. Further, biologists' use of the term `model organism` and its historical development and epistemological basis in biological practice has not been extensively explored. This project will examine the goals, motivations, and development of the `worm project` and the use of C. elegans as a model organism. Using this case study, a philosophical framework within which the epistemological dimensions of the use of model organisms in biology and medicine can be better understood will be developed.