Pharmacogenetics book wins prize
Adam Hedgecoe has been awarded the British Sociological Association (BSA) Medical Sociology Study Group, Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize for 2005, for 'The Politics of Personalised Medicine: Pharmacogenetics in the Clinic'.
Dr Hedgecoe, a former Wellcome Trust Fellow, was honoured for his book, judged to be the most original and significant contribution to the sub-discipline published in the last three years, at the BSA Medical Sociology Group Annual Conference on 15 September 2005.
Pharmacogenetics, the use of genetic testing to prescribe and develop drugs, has been hailed as a revolutionary development for the pharmaceutical industry and modern medicine. Supporters of personalised medicine claim the result will be safer, cheaper, more effective drugs, and their arguments are beginning to influence policy debates. Sceptics, however, say the technique's promise has been over-hyped.
Based on interviews with clinicians, researchers, regulators and company representatives, Dr Hedgecoe's book explores the impact of pharmacogenetics on clinical practice, following two cases of personalised medicine as they make their way from the laboratory to the clinic.
Dr Hedgecoe's research was funded by the Wellcome Trust’s programme in Biomedical Ethics. After completing his Fellowship, Dr Hedgecoe was appointed as Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Sussex.
External links
- The Politics of Personalised Medicine: Pharmacogenetics in the Clinic (Cambridge University Press, books details)
- Sociology of Health and Illness Book of the Year
- Adam Hedgecoe (Profile)
- British Sociological Association (BSA)