Rob is a Reader in Medical History and Humanities at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM), University of Manchester (UK). His work examines the role of nonhuman animals in human cultures, particularly in science, medicine and health. Rob leads the historical research stream across the Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award ‘The Animal Research Nexus: Changing Constitutions of Science, Health and Welfare’.
Rob is also investigating how human-animal relations shape and potentially sustain health and wellbeing in society. This research asks how our perceptions of medicine might change if health and wellbeing were thought of as more than human concerns. It explores how medicine has formed various partnerships with nonhuman species, such as the use of maggots in wound healing or assistance animals such as the ‘guide’ dog.