An aerial view of Singleton Campus and the bay opposite
Dr Michael Bresalier

Dr Michael Bresalier

Lecturer in the History of Medicine
History
Available For Postgraduate Supervision

About

I am a historian of modern medicine, with expertise in the social, cultural, economic and political dimensions of health and disease. My most recent book, Modern Flu (Palgrave 2023), is the first systematic history to trace how influenza was framed as a viral disease and how virological ways of knowing reshaped approaches to controlling the disease through the twentieth century.

My current research interests are with human and animal infections, their interconnection to livestock systems, and the role of global health organisations in addressing the health, environmental and climate impacts of the ‘livestock revolution’.

As co-director of the Medical Humanities Research Centre in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities I organise workshops, seminars and conferences on core research themes, including resilience in healthcare and health, disease, and the natural world.

In January 2024, I will be an investigator on a six-year Wellcome Trust-funded project on ‘Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare’ (EPIC). This is a partnership between philosophers, psychologists, social scientists and historians to study how disparities in healthcare knowledge affect health experiences, wellbeing and outcomes of patients and communities. 

https://epistemicinjusticeinhealthcareproject.blogspot.com/2023/10/michael-bresalier-on-epic.html

Areas Of Expertise

  • Epidemics and infections in the modern world
  • Global history of modern medicine
  • Animals in modern science and medicine
  • Historical perspectives of hunger and famine
  • History of international and global health
  • Medicine, disease and empire

Career Highlights

Teaching Interests

History of modern medicine, 1790-present

Disease in history

Colonial, post-colonial and global medicine

Inequalities in health and medicine

Modern medical bodies

Geopolitics of hunger and humanitarianism

Causes, consequences and solutions to the ‘livestock revolution’

Research Award Highlights Collaborations