Ken Arnold

Ken Arnold is Professor at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Public Health and Director of Medical Museion, where he leads interdisciplinary research bridging medical science, cultural studies, and museology. As a Principal Investigator at the NNF Center for Basic Metabolic Research, he develops innovative approaches to public engagement with science. Previously, Arnold served as founding director of London's Wellcome Collection (2007-2022), establishing its international reputation for science-art collaborations.

His research examines museums as vital spaces for cultural mediation, focusing on:

• Transdisciplinary methodologies connecting arts, humanities and sciences
• Curatorial practices as research processes
• Object-based epistemology in medical collections
• Public engagement with health and biomedical sciences
• Historical perspectives on museological practices

Publications demonstrate sustained focus on museological theory, particularly how exhibitions function as research outputs and how museums facilitate public understanding of science. Recent works address pandemic impacts on cultural institutions and temporal dimensions of medical collections.

Arnold leads collaborative research initiatives including the Metabolic Science in Culture program, exploring how museum spaces can catalyze new forms of knowledge production at science-culture intersections.