Rebecca Mertens

Dr. Rebecca Mertens is a Research Fellow and Postdoctoral researcher at the Universität Bielefeld, affiliated with the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1288 'Practices of Comparison' as an Associate Member. She holds positions in the Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology, specifically within the Department of History and the Society - Knowledge - Environment research group. Her work focuses on the history and philosophy of science, particularly comparative practices and analogy-based research in the life sciences and physical sciences.

Education: She earned a Master’s degree in Science Studies from the École Normale Supérieure Paris and Universität Bielefeld (2009–2011), followed by a PhD in 2016 on the role of the lock-and-key analogy in 20th-century biochemistry. She has held roles as a Research Associate in CRC 1288, a Visiting Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, and an advisor at the Science Council.

Research Interests: Mertens explores how comparative methodologies and analogical reasoning shape scientific knowledge production. Her work bridges historical case studies (e.g., biochemistry) with philosophical analysis of scientific practices, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding scientific narratives and collaborative frameworks.

Key Projects: She contributes to CRC 1288’s Project Area D, investigating how comparison stabilizes knowledge across disciplines. Her publications include co-edited volumes on narratives and comparisons in science, as well as articles on analogy-driven research programs in biochemistry.