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Lara Keuck, member of the ISoS executive board and professor of history and philosophy of medicine at Bielefeld University, is involved in a new European doctoral network funded with around 4 million Euros under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) of Horizon Europe. The TRANSCEND Network was initiated and conceptualised by Lara Keuck together with Klaus Eyer and Linda Douw with the support of a Branco Weiss Collaborative Grant.

TRANSCEND brings together researchers at eleven sites, ranging from biomedical sciences over AI and psychology to philosophy to develop and evaluate a new transdisciplinary approach to translational research on autism spectrum disorder and multiple sclerosis. A key idea of TRANSCEND is to recognize – rather than reduce – the complexity of chronic neurological disorders and diseases as a crucial aspect in translational research. The Bielefeld sub-project will be located at the newly founded Institute for Studies of Science (ISoS).

Embracing complexity instead of reducing it

TRANSCEND draws on the idea that traditional reductionist methods have inherent limitations when it comes to researching complex and multifactorial disorders and diseases. Therefore, instead of focusing on isolated disease components or symptoms, TRANSCEND adopts a holistic approach that takes into account patient-relevant outcomes at early stages of the research process and considers the diversity of disease and symptom experiences. The goal is to develop new transdisciplinary strategies for translational biomedical research.

Interdisciplinary focus

The doctoral network follows an interdisciplinary approach which combines critical philosophical reflection with current biomedical research. Within the doctoral network, various projects and learning activities from biomedical sciences, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy will be brought together. Additionally, TRANSCEND plans transdisciplinary work packages and collaboration with stakeholders from politics and industry. One of the currently advertised positions will be located in Lara Keuck’s History and Philosophy of Medicine research group at Bielefeld University. The job posting can be found here.

Located at the newly founded Institute for Studies of Science (ISoS)

In Bielefeld, TRANSCEND will be based at the Institute for Studies of Science (ISoS), which was established as a Central Academic Institute at Bielefeld University in May 2025. ISoS brings together researchers from sociology, political science, philosophy, and history to engage in interdisciplinary reflection on science, its practice and social dimension.

Each semester, ISoS organizes the ISoS Lectures, a lecture series aiming at fostering interdisciplinary reflection on science across various disciplines and research fields. The programme for the winter term 2025/26 is now available. We look forward to welcoming you to the ISoS Lectures.

In May 2025, ISoS was officially founded as a Central Academic Institute at Bielefeld University. On October 24, 2025, ISoS will host its inaugural conference "Science in Practice and in Society" at the ZiF in Bielefeld. For further information, please visit the conference website.

The directors of ISoS talk about the founding of ISoS as a Central Academic Institute at Bielefeld University. The interview can be found here.