Jump to content

Rachel Ankeny

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rachel A. Ankeny
FAHA FASSA
Education
Alma materSt. John's College, Santa Fe
University of Pittsburgh
University of Adelaide
Doctoral advisorJames G. Lennox
Philosophical work
RegionThe Netherlands
SchoolPhilosophy of science in practice
InstitutionsWageningen University
University of Adelaide
Main interestsPhilosophy of Biological & Biomedical Sciences
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Medicine
Bioethics
Food & Agricultural Ethics
Website[1]

Rachel Ankeny FAHA FASSA was appointed as Chair and Professor of philosophy at Wageningen University in 2024.[1] She was previously Professor of history and philosophy at the University of Adelaide, where she worked from 2006–24 and served as Deputy Dean Research (Faculty of Arts) from 2011–22. She remains affiliated as an honorary professor at Adelaide.

In 2020, she was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) "for her contributions to our understanding of the foundational roles that organisms play in biological research and her leadership in history and philosophy of science."[2] She is currently the past president of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB)[3] and Editor-in-Chief of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.[4]

Biography

[edit]

After finishing her B.A. at St. John's College (Santa Fe), studying the Great Books curriculum, Ankeny held an independent Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to explore families' understandings of and responses to Huntington disease risk in England, Scotland, Wales, and Denmark. She then worked for the Great Books of the Western World series at Encyclopædia Britannica and the Paideia Program in Chicago for 3 years. Ankeny received M.A.s in bioethics and in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh, and her Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh.[5] She also holds a M.A. degree in Gastronomy from the University of Adelaide, where she wrote a thesis on celebratory food habits among immigrants of Italo-Australian and Italian-American origin.[6] Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Adelaide, she was director of the Unit for History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney (2000–2006).

Research

[edit]

Ankeny is known for her work on philosophy of science in practice, an emerging field that combines empirical approaches to the study of scientific practice with philosophical analyses. She was co-founder of the international organization Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice in 2005, together with Mieke Boon, Marcel Boumans, Hasok Chang, and Henk de Regt.[7] Ankeny's work in the history and philosophy of science concerns the use of scientific models, case-based reasoning, model organisms, and the nature of scientific change. She led the project Organisms and Us: How living things help us to understand our world[8] which explored the roles of non-human organisms in biological research and how researchers use organisms in 20th and early 21st-century science together with Sabina Leonelli and Michael Dietrich. She also is known for her co-authored work on repertoires in scientific practice with Leonelli, which provides an analytical framework for understanding how scientific communities and research groups function, focusing on the diverse conditions that enable scientific practices and knowledge production.[9]

Ankeny's expertise also includes philosophy of medicine, bioethics, science policy, and food and agricultural studies. She founded the Food Values Research Group[10] at University of Adelaide which seeks to understand the decision-making processes behind everyday food choices and how they are shaped by social, cultural and historical influences and individual and community values. She leads the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Medical Research Future Fund MRFF project, Enabling Openness in Australian Stem Cell Research (EOAR)[11] an interdisciplinary research cluster explores building trust in stem cell-based research and therapies. She is an associated researcher and PhD supervisor on the Australian Research Council Training Centre for Future Crops Development[12] in the program associated with ethical, legal, and social research on opportunities for innovation in alignment with community needs.

Recognition

[edit]

In 2020, Ankeny was elected as a History and Philosophy of Science Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[13] She was elected president of ISHPSSB in 2019.[14] Ankeny was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2022[15] and of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2024.[16]

Media and public engagement

[edit]

Ankeny has been frequently interviewed by Australian national and international networks and programs on issues including genetic editing[17][18][19] and GMO labeling,[20][21] the quality and value of foods,[22] updates to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand,[23] and eating habits.[24] She has been invited as a guest on multiple programs at ABC Radio National, including Robyn Williams's Ockham's Razor,[25] Jonathan Green's Blueprint,[26] the Health Report,[17] Linda Mottram's PM,[27] and the Catalyst.[28] Her bylines include The Conversation,[29] Online Opinion,[30] The ABC's Religion and Ethics portal,[31] and the Griffith Review.[32] She also has been a featured speaker at science-related public events including at Adelaide Writers' Week, the Adelaide Festival of Ideas, and the World Science Festival Brisbane.

Selected publications

[edit]
  • Model Organisms (2020) with Sabina Leonelli. (ISBN 9781108593014) Available open access at https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/model-organisms/F895B26EAC0373BCA5A138835AC73AEA.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Rachel Ankeny appointed chairholder Philosophy Group | Wageningen University". www.wur.nl. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  2. ^ "AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2020 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Current Council and Editorial Board". www.ishpssb.org. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Editorial Board | Elsevier". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  5. ^ Ankeny, Rachel. "The conqueror worm: An historical and philosophical examination of the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism". pitt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  6. ^ Ankeny, Rachel. "Celebratory food traditions in the Italian diaspora: comapring [i.e. comparing] the land of opportunity and the lucky country". librarysearch.adelaide.edu.au. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice | Mission Statement". philosophy-science-practice.org. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Organisms and Us | University of Adelaide". arts.adelaide.edu.au. Retrieved 29 November 2020.,
  9. ^ "Studies in History and Philosophy of Science: Repertoires: A post-Kuhnian perspective on scientific change and collaborative research". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  10. ^ "People". Food Values Research Group | University of Adelaide. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  11. ^ "| Enabling Openness in Australian Stem Cell Research (EOAR)". www.eoar.com.au.,
  12. ^ "ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development". futurecropscentre.edu.au. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  13. ^ 2020 Fellows, AAAS. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  14. ^ "2019 Election results - ISHPSSB.org". www.ishpssb.org. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  15. ^ "34 leading social scientists elected to the Academy". Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Fellow Profile: Rachel Ankeny". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Gene editing our way to better health?". ABC Radio National. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  18. ^ "More consumers support the science of GMOs, but don't see benefits". www.abc.net.au. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  19. ^ Dayton, Leigh (14 February 2014). "Organic Farmer Sues GM Farming Neighbor". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  20. ^ Bray, Heather; Ankeny, Rachel A. (15 February 2017). "Perceptions of genetically modified food are informed by more than just science". The Conversation. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Current GM food labels no longer fit for purpose - Report". NZ Herald. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  22. ^ Marshall, Andrew (11 August 2020). "Warning signs on menu for suppliers as food services adjust to COVID-19". Farm Online. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  23. ^ "Time for change: Experts back new definitions for foods produced with gene tech". foodnavigator-asia.com. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  24. ^ Ting, Inga (5 November 2013). "How Australia eats: The ultimate pie chart". Good Food. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Is eating meat bad for you?". ABC Radio National. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  26. ^ "Lockdown kitchen". ABC Radio National. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  27. ^ "Religion and science collide over COVID-19 vaccine ethics". ABC Radio. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  28. ^ Gene Editing Made Simple, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 August 2016, retrieved 29 November 2020
  29. ^ "Rachel A. Ankeny". The Conversation. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  30. ^ "Is there an individual responsibility not to have children in cases of genetic risk?". Online Opinion.
  31. ^ Ankeny, Rachel (2 June 2016). "'Good' Food? Avoiding Moral Superiority over What We Eat". ABC Religion & Ethics. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  32. ^ "Science in an age of scepticism Coping with a new age of controversy". www.griffithreview.com. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel_Ankeny&oldid=1284797137"