
Dr Alice Beck
Expertise
My research explores the politics of knowledge production, questioning how knowledge is made, who is making it and how that determines its legitimacy.
Current positions
Senior Research Associate
Cabot Institute
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I am a human geographer working at the intersection of science and technology studies (STS). My research interests include: ontological epistemic politics, knowledge hierarchies, feminist theoretical approaches to health and emerging medical technologies, and research culture in environmental and interdisciplinary research settings.
I completed my PhD in geography at the University of Bristol in 2022. My doctoral thesis examined the ontological politics of the human microbiome, emphasising how knowledge hierarchies deem some forms of knowledge production more legitimate than others. The thesis also speculated on the implications of these hierarchies for our understanding of and treatment of the human body and its relationship to nonhuman microbes.
Since completing my doctorate, I have worked on multiple projects at the Cabot Institute exploring how research culture emerges and impacts research experience. In particular, my work has focused on how knowledge hierarchies impact interdisciplinary research.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Enhancing the Research Experience for Mature PGRs: Methods for curating empowerment, collaboration and a culture of valuing diverse experiences
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Description
This project aims to develop and implement a comprehensive suite of resources for mature postgraduate research (PGR) students at the University of Bristol (UoB). Grounded in data from previous…Managing organisational unit
Cabot InstituteDates
01/10/2024 to 31/07/2025
Testing The Toolkit: Exploring The ‘Research Team Culture Toolkit’ With Environmental PGR Communities
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Cabot InstituteDates
01/02/2024 to 31/07/2025
Returning to Research: Enabling Mature PGRs to Thrive in Environmental Research Careers
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Managing organisational unit
Cabot InstituteDates
10/11/2023 to 31/01/2025
From PGR to Professor: Re-Imagining a Culture of Belonging in the Interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Dates
01/01/2023 to 31/12/2023
Building Inclusive Futures in Environmental Research
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Description
Exploring academic, student and community perspectives on inclusive research culture in interdisciplinary environmental sciences through a case-study of the Cabot MScR in Global Environmental ChallengesDates
01/04/2022 to 29/07/2022
Publications
Recent publications
10/12/2024Occupying the space between disciplines: meeting the challenges of interdisciplinary supervision
Changing the World One PhD at a Time: Mature Post-Graduate Researchers as ‘Quiet Activists’
Los microbiomas como especies que acompañan
Social and Cultural Geography
Thesis
The microbial human
Supervisors
Award date
24/01/2023