Lauren Kassell

Lauren Kassell is a Full-time Professor of History of Science at the Department of History, European University Institute (EUI), and concurrently holds a Professorship in History of Science and Medicine at the University of Cambridge's Department of History and Philosophy. She serves as General Editor for the 6-volume Cambridge History of Medicine and leads the groundbreaking project How to Live Forever, which examines historical transformations in aging and end-of-life experiences.

Her research spans Early Modern History (16th-18th centuries), with specialized focus on everyday medicine, occult sciences, and the history of reproduction in England. She integrates Digital Humanities methodologies to analyze historical medical casebooks and develops innovative approaches to studying historical emotions and gender dynamics. Her work bridges Cultural History, Intellectual History, and Public History through interdisciplinary frameworks.

Professor Kassell's recent publications reveal consistent engagement with historical pandemic responses, digitization of medical archives, and the intersection of prayer and medical practice in seventeenth-century contexts. Her scholarship demonstrates methodological innovation through digital approaches to historical sources while maintaining deep engagement with primary materials from early modern England.

• General Editor, Cambridge History of Medicine (6 Volumes)
• Principal Investigator, How to Live Forever project on historical aging concepts
• Director of digital humanities initiatives for medical history archives

She actively supervises 23 graduate students across diverse research areas in medical and scientific history, with notable supervisees including Ann Eriksen (working on urban imagery) and Ewa Zakrzewska (focusing on early modern medical practices). Her collaborative work extends through institutional partnerships between EUI and the University of Cambridge.