Doctoral Dissertation Research: Biomedical Practices and New Medical Pharmaceuticals in Germany

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Doctoral Dissertation Research: Biomedical Practices and New Medical Pharmaceuticals in GermanyThis project investigates the origins, meanings, and effects of new medical pharmaceuticals that can both treat disease and address the functioning of healthy individuals. Using interviews with biomedical professionals who deploy these new pharmaceuticals, and ethnographic observations, this research examines how the development and use of these pharmaceuticals are understood by biomedical professionals, who have historically been oriented toward assisting those who are ill rather than addressing biomedical issues in healthy people. Interviews and ethnographic research are also used to investigate how users learn about and attribute value to these new pharmaceuticals. This research contributes to social science theories of how human health and well-being are understood and evaluated by biomedical professional and scientists. It also contributes to social science theories of the sources of change in biomedical practices, by examining the role of new products in shaping assumptions, subjects, and personnel. Broader impacts of this research include new resources for programs intended to provide public information about new pharmaceuticals, and materials that can help in the formulation of policy responses and professional guidelines for biomedical professionals whose practices may be shaped by new orientations toward human well-being.