João Rangel de Almeida

I studied sociology as an undergrad and did both my MSc and PhD in Science and Technology Studies at the University of Edinburgh. In my research I am interested to understand how public health is internationally regulated in moments of crisis. More specifically, I explore how doctors and state officials create international legal orders when there is no scientific agreement regarding the nature of diseases. 

Thus, diplomatic and medical sources are central to my work. Together these documents unravel how definitions of diseases are internationally tailored and how medical controversies are tackled to form common policies. In short, my research project intersect international public health affairs, standardisation of practices and meanings, the science of the unknown, and international relations. I am very interested to follow the actors and their materialities as a way to understand how disputes are settled through legal codes, even if temporary.