Dissertation Research: Science as Social Action: The Search for the Hematopoietic Stem Cell

论文研究：科学作为社会行动：寻找造血干细胞

• 批准号: 0620993
• 负责人: Elisabeth Lloyd
• 金额: $ 0.62万
• 依托单位: Indiana University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-01 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0620993&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Science; Social; Action

The aim of this Dissertation Improvement Grant in the Social Studies of Science is to travel to multiple sites in order to conduct personal interviews with and examine the working habits of prominent actors involved in hematopoietic stem cell research in Irving L. Weissman's laboratory between 1978 and the present. This project builds on the results of earlier research, including a previous interview and visit to the research site (at Stanford University Medical Center). The proposed interviews and campus visits are crucial to a detailed empirical case study of the dynamics of research in cellular immunology. The case study, in turn, is part of a larger integrative study of social interactions and scientific progress. Proposed interviewees include researchers at Stanford University; Dynavax Technologies, University of California Irvine, The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Duke University, University of Michigan and the University of Utah. These individuals were selected because of their roles in key theoretical or technical innovations in the Weissman lab research program aimed at isolating and characterizing stem cells of the immune system and blood. This research program is examined from its experimental and conceptual roots in the 1940s, through the technological innovations of the 1970s and 1980s, to the ongoing conceptual and clinical ramifications of hematopoietic stem cell research. The case study focuses on the role of collaborative and competitive interactions within and between social groups of researchers, drawing on published sources, interviews with participants, and unpublished notes. Interviews will concentrate on the collaborative and competitive interactions within and between laboratory groups; planned questions include: Was there competition with other lab groups, to be first to isolate the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)? If so, who were the competitors (whole labs, or particular members)? How did this research link to other areas of biomedical research? Campus visits will supplement the personal interviews, indicating working routines and key social interactions operating on a day to day basis. This study integrates a number of important insights from different areas of inquiry. It reexamines the classic issue of the aim and structure of science in light of recent developments in philosophy (social epistemology), sociology of science (social constructivism), and immunology (stem cell research). Philosophical analysis is used to articulate an integrative framework, within which these different strands of inquiry can be productively combined. The end result is a principled account of scientific inquiry, which can be applied to specific episodes for the purpose of effective criticism. This project dovetails well with emerging areas of interest in philosophy and sociology of science, andwill thus set the stage for future collaborations. The integrative approach allows important recent insights in philosophy and sociology of science to be consolidated and extended. The result will be a detailed and rigorous account of social epistemic norms of science which can be fruitfully applied to scientific episodes by both theorists and policy-makers. The study will improve our understanding of the workings of recent biomedical research, and of stem cell research in particular. A number of forums exist for dissemination of results, and a natural avenue of expansion for the project is provided by social network analysis, already a focus of much research at Indiana University. The case study will improve understanding of the development of the current biomedical 'identity' of stem cells, and thereby contribute to more informed and helpful public discussions of stem cell research in particular, and of biomedicine in general.

在科学的社会研究的这篇论文改进补助金的目的是前往多个地点，以进行个人采访，并检查在欧文L的造血干细胞研究参与突出演员的工作习惯。从1978年到现在，魏斯曼的实验室。这个项目建立在早期研究的结果上，包括以前的采访和对研究地点的访问（在斯坦福大学医学中心）。建议的采访和校园访问是至关重要的细胞免疫学研究的动态的详细的实证案例研究。反过来，案例研究是社会互动和科学进步的更大综合研究的一部分。拟议的受访者包括斯坦福大学、Dynavax技术公司、加州欧文大学、弗雷德哈钦森癌症研究中心、杜克大学、密歇根大学和犹他州大学的研究人员。这些人之所以被选中，是因为他们在魏斯曼实验室研究项目中的关键理论或技术创新中发挥了作用，该项目旨在分离和表征免疫系统和血液的干细胞。该研究项目从20世纪40年代的实验和概念根源，到20世纪70年代和80年代的技术创新，再到造血干细胞研究的持续概念和临床影响。案例研究的重点是研究人员的社会群体内部和之间的合作和竞争的互动的作用，利用已发表的资料来源，与参与者的访谈，和未发表的笔记。访谈将集中在实验室内部和之间的合作和竞争的互动;计划的问题包括：是否有竞争与其他实验室组，首先分离造血干细胞（HSC）？如果是这样，谁是竞争对手（整个实验室，或特定成员）？这项研究如何与其他生物医学研究领域联系起来？校园访问将补充个人访谈，说明日常工作和关键的社会互动。这项研究整合了来自不同调查领域的一些重要见解。它根据哲学（社会认识论）、科学社会学（社会建构主义）和免疫学（干细胞研究）的最新发展，重新审视了科学的目标和结构这一经典问题。哲学分析被用来阐明一个综合框架，在这个框架内，这些不同的探索可以有效地结合起来。最终的结果是科学探究的原则性说明，可以应用于具体事件，以达到有效批评的目的。这个项目与哲学和科学社会学的新兴领域相吻合，因此将为未来的合作奠定基础。综合的方法，使重要的科学哲学和社会学的最新见解得到巩固和扩展。其结果将是一个详细和严格的帐户的社会认识规范的科学，可以卓有成效地应用到科学的情节，无论是理论家和政策制定者。 这项研究将提高我们对最近生物医学研究工作的理解，特别是干细胞研究。有许多论坛可以传播研究结果，社会网络分析为该项目的扩展提供了一个自然的途径，社会网络分析已经是印第安纳州大学许多研究的焦点。该案例研究将提高对干细胞当前生物医学“身份”发展的理解，从而有助于对特别是干细胞研究和一般生物医学进行更知情和更有帮助的公众讨论。