Thomas Erslev

Thomas Erslev is a doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin, affiliated with the Department of Artifacts, Action, Knowledge and the Sciences of the Archive Working Group. He concurrently pursues his doctoral degree at Aarhus University while teaching courses in medical ethics, history of medicine, historical methodology, and history of science.

His educational background includes degrees in History of Science and Intellectual History from the University of Manchester and Aarhus University. At MPIWG, Erslev investigates how temporality concepts shape "value" and "waste" frameworks in human brain collection management, examining implications for scientists and institutional actors.

Erslev's research bridges historical methodology with contemporary bioethics, focusing on brain banking as archival practice. His work integrates material culture studies and history of medicine to analyze how collections transition from laboratories to historical archives. He conceptualizes brain repositories as dynamic sites where scientific, ethical, and temporal dimensions intersect.

As an editor for the Danish journal Slagmark, Erslev curates a special issue on "Embryology and Reproduction" and contributes to public humanities through Baggrund.com. His project "Collecting Brains: From the Lab to the Archive" explores historiographical approaches to biological collections while addressing practical challenges faced by historical actors in neuroscience contexts.