Karin Tybjerg

Karin Tybjerg is an Associate Professor at Medical Museion, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Her interdisciplinary work bridges historical, philosophical, and curatorial approaches to contemporary biosciences.

Her educational background includes a PhD and research fellowship in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. Prior professional experience encompasses roles as Keeper of Ethnography and Modern History at the Danish National Museum and Head of Astronomy at Kroppedal Museum.

Tybjerg's research centers on four interconnected domains: anatomical/pathological collections (examining pathological specimens from 18th-19th centuries to modern biobanks), physics-medicine interfaces (particularly early biological tracers), diagnosis history (tracing conceptual shifts from pathological collections to automated diagnostics), and museology (focusing on medical collection history and scientific instrument exhibition). Her approach consistently applies historical-philosophical lenses to illuminate current biomedical practices.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a methodological evolution toward examining diagnostic knowledge systems across historical periods, with increasing emphasis on epistemic objects and scale dynamics in medical collections. Her work demonstrates consistent engagement with material medical history while addressing contemporary issues like biobanking ethics and diagnostic automation.

Professional activities include organizing the 2019 'Collections, Knowledge and Time' workshop and significant public engagement through 5 media appearances, including TV2 interviews on vaccine history and Politiken features on medical artifacts.

Her curatorial work at Medical Museion, notably the 'The Body Collected' exhibition, integrates research with public science communication, demonstrating her commitment to translating academic scholarship into accessible formats while maintaining rigorous historical-philosophical analysis.