EPIGENETICS AND POLICY: CROSS-LINKING THE 'ENVIRONMENTAL TURN' IN THE LIFE SCIENCES AND THE 'MOLECULAR TURN' IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

This thesis is an empirical investigation of epigenetics and policy. This research first focused on mapping the impact of epigenetics in health care and exploring the challenges it poses for health care policy. The thesis developes a combined qualitative-quantitative strategy to identify the most active areas of epigenetic research, clinical applications and clinical outputs, as well as to track the number of publications on epigenetics. Moreover, the thesis finds that the science of epigenomics goes ‘beyond the genome’ insofar as what lies beyond can be conceptualised through and converted into genome-friendly, code-compatible digital representations. The research further focused on the case of Glasgow, a city characterized by stark health and social inequalities, where epigenetics has been employed in an interdisciplinary project to measure and instruct relevant social programs to target these inequalities. This thesis thus contributes a critical insight into how epigenetics is currently employed – in collaboration between actors of diverse backgrounds; and in policy efforts and action upon health. The thesis finds that within this project epigenetics is conceptualised as instrumentally effective, policy-approprate evidentiary resource that could foster socio-political change in a non-distant future. Accordingly, it is thanks to its molecularization of the environment and therefore its purported objectivity, that epigenetics is bestowed the potential for actionable public health knowledge. Additionally, the thesis finds that it is the solidary practice that governs this interdisciplinary collaborative endeavour in Glasgow.