Professor Frank W. Stahnisch, MSc, MD, PhD
Affiliations
Professor
Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences
Alberta Medical Foundation/Hannah Professorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care
Cumming School of Medicine
Professor
Adjunct Professor
Full Member
Hotchkiss Brain Institute
Full Member
Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education
Full Member
O'Brien Institute for Public Health
Contact information
Phone number
Office: +1 (403) 210-6290
Office: +1 (403) 220-6424
Location
Department of Community Health Sciences: TRW Building3E41
Department of History: Social Sciences BuildingSS606
Email: fwstahni@ucalgary.ca
I'm looking for...
Learning opportunities
Graduate Students (Master's and PhDs) and PostDocs (external funding)
Background
Educational Background
Doctor of Philosophy History of Medicine, Humboldt University, 2001
Doctor of Medicine Human Medicine, Free University (West Berlin), 1998
M.S. Philosophy of Science, University of Edinburgh, 1995
B.A. Philosophy, J. W. Goethe University, 1992
Biography
(AMF/Hannah Professorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care)
As a historian of medicine and health care, Frank's interests span the development of experimental physiology and laboratory medicine since the late 18th century (particularly France and Germany), the historical relationship between neurology/the neurosciences and the philosophy of the mind (focus on the German-speaking countries and North America), the relationship between clinical neuroscience and public mental health (particularly Canada and the United States), the historical epistemology of the life sciences (18th to 21st centuries), and the longer history of visualization practices in medicine and health care. His current research as a Principle Investigator has been supported by research grants from SSHRC, CIHR, AvH, NSHRF, AMS, and AHRF.
Since 2015 he has succeeded Professor Malcolm Macmillan (University of Melbourne, Australia) as Editor-in-Chief of the international "Journal of the History of the Neurosciences" (with Taylor & Francis - Routledge Group).
Research
Areas of Research
Scientific, medical, and technological progress is relentless and has become ever so rapid. As such, the conditions for a social and contextual understanding of science’s implications for humanity and its place in society are changing rapidly as well. Furthermore, new inventions, discoveries, and theories have a significant impact on the way we understand the facts, products, and processes developed by past and recent scientists, engineers, and physicians. In a current political “post-factual climate” (which became even more viral during the past two Covid-19 years) it is absolutely vital to realize that this constantly changing field needs in-depth analyses and examinations to grasp the magnitude of today’s challenges. More complex science needs more in-depth humanities scholarship. When viewing instances of social debates, legal and military conflicts, it becomes imperative to likewise unearth the cultural origins of scientific discoveries, as these pertain to issues regarding group participation and impacts, community benefits, and equitable access to new scientific products. Science, technology, and medicine are usually seen as the main fields where contemporary societies place their hopes for a better future. However, as examples in the past and present have shown, science, technology and medicine have not always been used in completely positive ways (e.g. environmental issues, military conflicts, postcolonial dependencies, etc.), while the public’s relationship to innovations and scientific practices remains a complex issue.
Conveners:
Dr. Frank W. Stahnisch (AMF/Hannah Professorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care), fwstahni@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Glenn Dolphin (Tamaratt Chair, Science Education and Teaching, Faculty of Science), glenn.dolphin@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Lesley Bolton (Instructor, Department of Classics and Religion), labolton@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Jesse L. Hendrikse (Instructor, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine), jlhendri@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Gregor Wolbring (Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Community Health Sciences, Stream Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies), gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| HTST 49398 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History - Medicine | 2021 |
| HTST 49399 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History - Medicine | 2020 |
| HTST 54102 SEC 01 S01 | Topics in the Hist of Science | 2021 |
| HTST 69125 LEC 02 02 | Conference Course in Spec Top | 2021 |
| ASHA 501 LEC 01 01 | The Nature of Research | 2020 |
| HTST 49338 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History | 2020 |
| HTST 49339 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History | 2021 |
| HTST 49338 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History | 2023 |
| HTST 49339 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History | 2023 |
| HTST 54105 SEC 01 S01 | Topics in the Hist of Science | 2023 |
| HTST 49338 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History | 2022 |
| HTST 49339 LEC 01 01 | Topics in History | 2022 |
| HTST 54104 SEC 01 S01 | Topics in History | 2022 |
| HTST 63905 SEC 01 S01 | Topics in Hist of Science | 2023 |
Projects
Annual Fellowship at the Calgary Institute for the Humanities:
In the history of science scholarship, the ‘Brain Gain Thesis’ is often taken as an unquestioned given in studies of the forced migration of physicians and medical researchers following the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany after 1933. Research literature on the receiving countries has primarily tended to take the intellectual, academic, and institutional dimensions of the forced migration wave into account, while the individual fate and adaptation problems of many émigré psychiatrists and neurologists are still considerably under-investigated. In this project, I thus want to look at the fate of a group of émigré physicians and researchers, who could be classified as early “neuroscientists” and who immigrated to Canada and the US either transitionally or for good. The thesis put forward here is that the process of forced migration most often constituted an end or at least a drastic change to the careers of this group of medical professionals.
Awards
- Award for Pursuing Meaningful Research -- Changing the Relationship between History & Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary. 2023
- Humboldt Research Fellowship 2023, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. 2023
- Follower-Up of the 2022 Outstanding Book Award in the History of Neuroscience, International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. 2022
- Committee Recommendation for Renewal for Fourth Term, AMF/Hannah Professorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care. 2022
- Jason A. Hannah Medal in the History of Medicine, Royal Society of Canada. 2021
- Research Award in the Established Scholar Category, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary. 2021
- Annual Fellow, Calgary Institute for the Humanities. 2021
- Associate Editor (History & Philosophy of Behavioral Neuroscience), Frontiers in Psychology. 2021
- #Great Supervisor Award for Graduate Supervision, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Calgary. 2020
- Dimitrije Pivnicki Award in Neuro and Psychiatric History, McGill University. 2020
- Nominated Research Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. 2018
- Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin. 2017
- Committee Recommendation for Renewal for Third Term, AMF/Hannah Professorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care. 2017
- Education Award -- Neuro421 Course History, Ethics and Society, HBI's Department of Neuroscience, University of Calgary. 2017
- Promotion to Full Profesor, University of Calgary. 2016
- Rhea and Louis D. Boshes Lectureship in the History of Neurology, University of Illinois at Chicago. 2016
- Sebastian K. Littmann Keynote Lecture, Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary. 2015
- Editor in Chief, Journal of the History of the Neurosciences. 2015
- Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Leadership in Health Care and Medicine Lecture, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida. 2015
- Tenure Award, University of Calgary. 2014
- Innovative Teaching Award, British Society for the History of Science. 2012
- Vice-President, Alberta Medical Foundation. 2012
- Committee Recommendation for Renewal for Second Term, AMF/Hannah Professorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care. 2012
- Marie Louise Nickerson Award in Neuro-History, McGill University. 2012
- Presidential Lecture , International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. 2011
- President, International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. 2010
- Humboldt Research Fellowship 2010, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. 2010
- Klaus Reicher Prize in Medical Philosophy, Literary Society Karlsruhe. 2009
- Associated Medical Services Lecture in the History of Medicine, University of Alberta. 2009
- Listed in: Who is Who in North Amercian Higher Education, Biltmore Who is Who. 2009
- Inauguration in Endowed Research Professorship, AMF/Hannah Professsorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care. 2008
- H. Richard Tyler Award, American Academy of Neurology. 2007
- John J. Pisano Award, National Institutes of Health. 2007
- Feodor Lynen Fellowship 2006-2008, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. 2006
- Research Fellowship, Foundation Weimar Classics and Art-Collections, Germany. 2004
- Mutual Award for Innovative Teaching -- Medicine-Week at the FAU Faculty of Economic & Social Sciences, Savings Bank Nuernberg, Germany. 2003
- Shortlist ("Ideas in Action") for the DGGMNT-Young Scholars' Prize, German Society for the History of Medicine, Science, and Technology, Wittenberg, Germany. 2002
- AiP-Fellowship by the Committee of Research and Education, Berlin Medical Faculty and Charité Hospital, Germany. 2000
- Scholarship of the Oskar-Hertwig-Centre, Berlin Medical Faculty and Charité Hospital, Germany. 1999
- Erasmus Scholarship, European Union, Brussels, EU. 1998
- Commendation, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. 1995
- Scholarship to Study Abroad, German Ministry of Education and Research. 1994
Publications
In the News
- Jason A. Hannah Medal in the History of Medicine. Education News Canada. (2021)
- Frank Stahnisch presented to the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK. Royal College of Psychiatry (UK). (2022)
Frank W. Stahnisch is an Editor-in-Chief of the international "Journal of the History of the Neurosciences", which is the official journal of the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences (ISHN) and the History Committee of the World Federation of Neurology (WFR). This journal is a flagship journal in the wider field of the history of neuroscience, psychiatry, and public mental health. Frank envisages his role as Editor-in-Chief, as to encourage broader scholarly uptake in the history and philosophy of neuroscience, the cultural historical exploration of neuroscientific concepts, institutions, and practices, along with the comparative aspects of neuroscientific research and clinical work in different cultural and international settings.
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