Lecture 1

Main goals

-          Understand the interdisciplinary nature of biomedical sciences

-          To apply interdisciplinary biomedical knowledge to address health issues in society

Biomedicine is a branch of medical science that applies biological and physiological principles to clinical practice

There is an interdisciplinary nature. We have the knowledge, how can this be implemented.

BMED is an explanation of the origins of disease and how we can cute it.

However, there used to be non-biological explanations.

There were other explanations, however you don’t need to remember these.

Idea of BMED is the origin of the disease. The body is a machine.

Another integration is Corvisart, here biomedicine and engineering come together. He was the doctor of napoleon and one of the foundational people of cardiology.

The laboratory movement. Von Liebig took students into the laboratory and taught them there.

Laboratory revolution

The normal vs pathological

Biomedical paradigm

Reductionism

By fixing the parts the parts, you fix the entire thing. This is the foundation of evidence based medicine

Success. The life expectancy has improved, this is due to medicine but also due to more food and clean water.

Effective interventions are vaccines and antibiotics.

Something important about evidence based medicine is meta-analysis. Using other studies to give your studies more credibility.

Pharma companies will do studies which are relevant for them.

Also, many clinical studies are done on healthy young white men.

Personalised medicine is also up and coming and is also a way to move away from evidence based medicine.

There is another problem with biomedicine, it pushes away other types of treatment like behavioural change. Prevention unlike a vaccination but keeping distance.

The preventative treatments are also evidence based, like cholesterol medicine, however a life style change or behavioural change could also prevent the disease.

Biomedical sciences has its limit and it could be used dogmatically.

The need for interdisciplinarity. Working together with multiple disciplines to come to a solution.

Biomedical sciences is already interdisciplinary. For example biology and mathematics, which results in epidemiology.

Disciplines at universities

Homo universalis, the idea that one man can do everything. That is how science was organised before, people who thought about everything.

However, the more knowledge was gained, the more specialized people became. This resulted into the different disciplines.

Why interdisciplinary. This is a metaphor of how the sciences work. Every discipline has their own truths about something, but they need to be woven together.

Disciplinary cultures

Health is your biomedical side, but it’s also influenced by your social community, your living conditions, your work and social-political conditions of your environment.

Complex adaptive system.

We are constantly interacting with each other, and therefore also changing. As a society we interact and therefore changing.  

This theory came from biomedical

Epidemiological triangle

They all together create disease

First 1000 days

The nutrition by the mother and the child is important and if the mother or child are affected by disease. In addition, the stress the mother has, can also have an impact.

Sensitive periods in early brain development

Almost everything peaks before the age of 2.

When you think about research questions, in a combination of social science and biomedical sciences.

The meaning of interdisciplinary

Mono-, multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary

Why interdisciplinary

It makes people more creative, some questions cant be answered by mono, most research funding wants multiple disciplines working together.

Two ways of looking at knowledge of the world.

Objectivism and social constructivism.

Objectivism – Positivism

As a researcher, you are outside of society and you observe society.

Reality can be observed. You try to describe it as facts and truths and it can be formulated into laws.

There is only one reality and the researcher discovers the truth.

Constructivism – interpretivism

Researchers are part of society and they look through their glasses. You can construct and describe how they see reality.

However this gives the possibility of another researcher interpreting reality differently, resulting in a different reality.

Therefore it is important to be transparent about the glasses we wear.

Within BMED there is the same, you have certain notions about concepts.

Quality of life is important for biomedical sciences, however when talking to people will be different then when its measured with instruments.

All of the types of people are needed. People are needed about behaviour change, about the barriers and system and about the biomedical knowledge.

Not one person has to do everything but you need to link it to other disciplinaries.

Addiction example

Statement about interdisciplinary.

Specialist and generalist isn’t relevant. However it is often mentioned, but the distinction doesn’t matter.

Examples of research questions

Mono+fundamental / Fundamental+inter / Applied+Inter / Applied+mono

Language is something that is trained which might be plain to you and peers, but not to others. Different concepts can have different meanings in different disciplines.

Language and terminology is important in interdisciplinary work

Philosophy is important to know where you come form

Engage with others in interdisciplinary work, don’t always follow protocol.

Don’t stick to the things you have been doing.