Erin Connelly

Erin Connelly is an Assistant Professor and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the University of Warwick. Her work bridges the sciences and humanities, focusing on the antimicrobial potential of historical and medieval medical remedies through interdisciplinary research.

Research Interests: Dr. Connelly specializes in ethnopharmacology, leveraging medieval manuscripts to explore traditional treatments for microbial infections. Her research integrates digital humanities, network analysis, and experimental microbiology to identify effective ingredient combinations from historical recipes. She applies computational tools to analyze medical texts such as the Lylye of Medicynes, aiming to discover novel antimicrobial therapeutics amid rising antibiotic resistance.

Her methodology includes quantitative analysis of historical recipes, multi-spectral imaging of manuscript stains, and empirical testing of historically inspired remedies. This innovative approach connects medieval medical knowledge with modern scientific validation.

Scientific Awards:

• UKRI Future Leaders Fellow

Professional Background and Grants: Prior to her current fellowship, Dr. Connelly contributed to several interdisciplinary projects including the digitization and metadata creation for approximately 400 medieval manuscripts in the Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis project, analysis of manuscript stains via multi-spectral imaging (Labeculae vivae), data mining of the Lylye of Medicynes, and the APEX-supported Nettles and Networks project. Her UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship supports an international, interdisciplinary initiative to mine medieval medical texts for modern therapeutic insights.

Labs and Research Teams: Dr. Connelly leads collaborative research efforts that integrate expertise from microbiology, history, digital humanities, and data science. Her work is conducted within research clusters at the University of Warwick, fostering international and cross-disciplinary partnerships aimed at translating historical medical knowledge into contemporary antimicrobial solutions.