Faculty Professor becomes first humanities scholar to receive prestigious Genetics Society award
Professor Gregory Radick, from the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds, has been recognised following the success of his latest book
A Professor at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures has become the first humanities scholar to receive the Genetics Society’s prestigious JBS Haldane Lecture award, which recognises exceptional ability to communicate genetics research to a wide audience.
Professor Gregory Radick, from the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds, has been recognised following the success of his latest book, Disputed Inheritance: The Battle Over Mendel and the Future of Biology (Chicago, 2023).
Professor Radick speaking at the American Society of Human Genetics’ Annual Conference 2024
Hailed as “surely definitive” in a recent review in the London Review of Books (LRB), the book has also been featured in a podcast by the LRB and was shortlisted for the 2024 Pickstone Prize for the best academic book in the history of science, technology, and medicine.
A central feature of the book is a teaching experiment conducted at the University of Leeds which has led to major reforms in how genetics is taught at the University.
Reflecting on the honour, Professor Radick said:
“My book challenges a lot of received wisdom about genetics and its history, so this very generous award from the Genetics Society is all the more thrilling. The fact that the lecture is named for JBS Haldane, who was a great agitator as well as a great communicator, is especially meaningful. For me, the history of science – and I hope to bring this out in the lecture – isn’t just a record of what happened, it’s a repository of possibilities, many of them still eye-opening, mind-expanding and action-energising.”
The JBS Haldane Lecture celebrates individuals with a flair for conveying the relevance and excitement of recent advances in genetics. Previous recipients include Dr Alison Bentley (2024), Dr Adam Rutherford (2023), and Professor Aoife McLysaght (2016). The award includes an honorarium of £1,000 and a three-year membership to the Genetics Society.
Professor Radick’s research focuses on the history of the life and mind sciences since 1750, and he is a leading figure in developing innovative approaches to science education, including a complexity-first curriculum for genetics. He has been at the forefront of attempts to develop an evidence-based approach to counterfactual questions about the scientific past – work that led him to propose and test an alternative, complexity-first curriculum for introductory genetics.
He has held leadership roles such as President of the British Society for the History of Science and the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology and is currently a STEM Trustee of the Science Museum Group. Earlier this year he was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.
The Haldane Lecture will take place in 2025, with further details to be announced.
