Prof. Dr. Sabina Leonelli

Professorship

Philosophy and History of Science and Technology

Academic Career and Research Areas

Building on philosophical, historical and social science methods and collaborations with scientists and policy-makers, I study: (1) the role of technology, data and organisms in knowledge production, and especially how computing and digitalisation efforts are transforming research and its social dynamics and roles; and (2) the institutionalisation of Open Science as a window on the methods, epistemology and political economy of contemporary scientific inquiry, particularly in the life, biomedical and environmental sciences.

After high school in Italy, I studied History and Philosophy of Science at University College London (BSc Hons, 2000) and London School of Economics (MSc, 2001). I earned a PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2007), while research assistant for Hasok Chang and attending the Dutch graduate schools for STS and philosophy. After coming back to LSE to work with Mary Morgan (2006-2008), I moved to the Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences at the University of Exeter, which I directed from 2013 to 2024. I was appointed TUM Professor on 09/24.

Awards

  • Kluge Chair in Technology and Society (2024) awarded by the Kluge Centre of USA Library of Congress
  • Honorary Doctorate awarded by the University of Tilburg (2023)
  • Patrick Suppes Prize for the Philosophy of Science (2022) awarded by the American Philosophical Society
  • Lakatos Award (2018) for outstanding contribution to the philosophy of science for the book Data-Centric Biology
  • Marjorie Grene Prize (2007) awarded by the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology

Leonelli, S. (2023) Philosophy of Open Science. Elements series. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Beaulieu, A. and Leonelli, S. (2021) Data and Society: A Critical Introduction. London, UK: SAGE.

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Leonelli, S. and Tempini, N. (eds) (2020) Data Journeys in the Sciences. Springer. Open Access.

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Ankeny, R.A. and Leonelli, S. (2020) Model Organisms. Elements Series, Cambridge University Press.

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Leonelli, S. (2016) Data-Centric Biology: A Philosophical Study. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.

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