Professor Karine Chemla

I am shocked to learn that the Wellcome trust centre for the history of medicine at UCL will close its doors within the next two years. The news comes as a blow for the profession worldwide, since the centre was internationally renowned for its leading role in the field and attracted young and senior scholars from the entire world. The centre played a major role in helping history of medicine to develop worldwide, taking a noticeable part in the influence that UK exerts throughout the world. Its scientific policy in the last decades to open history of medicine towards a global perspective was a major step, which gave hope to all of those who, like me, think that history of science is generally too slow in taking this step. The decision is a blow to the humanities in UK and beyond.

Professor Karine Chemla
Directrice de recherche CNRS
Research group REHSEIS-SPHERE, CNRS & University Paris Diderot
Former director of REHSEIS and of the nation-wide program "History of
knowledge"