Dr P Arouna Ouedraogo

I am writing to add my voice to those of scholars from around the world who are saddened and dismayed to learn of the planned closure of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL.

As a visiting scholar at the Centre on many occasions, I have benefited greatly from interacting with the Centre's faculty, staff, and graduate students. The people and resources at the Centre have proved critical to my intellectual development and informed my ongoing research in innumerable positive ways.

Work done by the Wellcome Centre scholars helped to a large extent settle medical history as an autonomous and important scientific discipline, which role is crucial more than ever, given the rapid transformations in medical science and medical care. This is now a common patrimony that the intellectual community should not let die. I do urge scholars not to resign themselves to this fact, and to keep shouting as loudly as possible to get the managers reconsider their decision.

P. Arouna Ouedraogo
Senior Researcher
INRA/ALISSParis