Lukas Engelmann

Lukas Engelmann is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, specifically within the Science, Technology and Innovation Studies department under the School of Social and Political Science. His research focuses on the history and sociology of biomedicine, with particular interest in epidemiological reasoning, visual cultures of disease, digital epidemiology, and decolonial approaches to medical history. The Epidemy Lab, which he founded, explores the historical development of epidemiology and its contemporary influence on data-driven public health and pandemic policy-making.

Engelmann's work has been funded by prestigious grants including an ERC Starting Grant (2021-2025) for his research on the history of epidemiological reasoning, and support from the Wellcome Trust for projects examining the social dimensions of digital health. His book 'Mapping AIDS' (2018) established him as a leading scholar in medical visualization, while 'Sulphuric Utopias' (2020) with Christos Lynteris explores the technological history of maritime sanitation and its political implications.

Recent publications emphasize the visual and data practices that have shaped epidemiology, including works on epidemic modeling during the COVID-19 pandemic, the history of plague mapping, and the ethical implications of digital phenotyping. He has also contributed to interdisciplinary discussions on syndemics, co-infection epistemology, and the commercialization of bacteriology in the early 20th century.

His scientific contributions have earned recognition through editorial roles in journals like Big Data and Society, and collaborative projects such as 'Working with Diagrams' (2022) which investigates the epistemological role of visual tools in medical knowledge production.

Scientific Awards and Funding:

• ERC Starting Grant (2021-2025)
• Wellcome Trust Institutional Support Fund
• British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant
• Chancellor's Fellowship (University of Edinburgh)
• 'Sulphuric Utopias' listed in The Guardian's 30 Books to Understand the World (2020)