Dr Matthias Wienroth

VC Senior Fellow

Department: Social Sciences

How can technology contribute to the 'good society', and what does 'good society’ even mean? I address these questions in my work on studying science and technology as social practices. I am particularly interested in how technologies shape the ways we know and (un)know human beings and relationships, individuals, communities and society. The fields I primarily study this in are security & justice (forensics and biometrics), and human health.

My work has been published in many peer-reviewed journals, including BioSocieties, the British Journal for the History of Science, Forensic Science Review, Minerva, Leonardo, New Genetics & Society, Sociology of Health & Illness, and others. I have edited books for Routledge and IOS Press, and regularly peer-review journal articles and grant proposals.

I was part of the multi-national FP7 Network of Excellence EUROFORGEN, and am a founding member of the interdisciplinary scientific initiative on new and emerging forensic genetics technologies WIE-DNA (Germany) and of the global network STS MIGTEC (Science and Technology Studies of Migration and Technologies). I am a member of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) and the European Association for Studies of Science and Technology (EASST). Since 2015, I have been building an interdisciplinary and international network for the Social Studies of Forensic Science.

Prior to joining the Centre for Crime and Policing I was Senior Research Associate at the Policy, Ethics & Life Sciences Research Centre, Newcastle University, and previously also worked as researcher at the Universities of Durham and Edinburgh, and King's College London.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

I am particularly interested in studying disciplinary, cross-disciplinary and cross-boundary knowledge production and organisation, their social & ethical aspects, and issues of governance here, in the fields of forensics, biometrics, and health technology and systems.

In my work I draw on frameworks and methods from Science and Technology Studies (STS), Sociology, Anthropology, Sociological/Empirical Ethics, Bioethics, Public Engagement, and Critical Policy Analysis. My work is interdisciplinary and integrates engagement with scientific practitioners, publics & policy-makers.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Value beyond scientific Validity: Let’s RULE (Reliability, Utility, LEgitimacy), Wienroth, M. 4 Dec 2020, In: Journal of Responsible Innovation
Socio-technical disagreements as ethical fora: Parabon NanoLab's forensic DNA Snapshot (TM) service at the intersection of discourses around robust science, technology validation, and commerce, Wienroth, M. 1 Mar 2020, In: BioSocieties
Governing anticipatory technology practices. Forensic DNA phenotyping and the forensic genetics community in Europe, Wienroth, M. 7 May 2018, In: New Genetics & Society
Promissory Ethical Regimes: Publics and Public Goods in Genome Editing for Human Health, Wienroth, M., Scully, J. Dec 2021, In: Science and Public Policy
Research campaigns in the UK National Health Service: patient recruitment and questions of valuation, Wienroth, M., Pearce, C., McKevitt, C. 1 Sep 2019, In: Sociology of Health & Illness
Health technology identities and self. Patients’ appropriation of an assistive device for self-management of chronic illness, Wienroth, M., Lund Holm Thomsen, L., Høstgaard, A. 1 Jun 2020, In: Sociology of Health & Illness
An analysis of the Learning Health System in its First Decade: A Scoping Review, Platt, J., Raj, M., Wienroth, M. 19 Mar 2020, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Was this an Ending? The Destruction of Samples and Deletion of Records from the UK Police National DNA Database, Skinner, D., Wienroth, M. 31 Jul 2019, In: BJHS Themes
Knowing New Biotechnologies: Social Aspects of Technological Convergence, Wienroth, M., Rodrigues, E. 5 Mar 2015
Social and Ethical Aspects of Forensic Genetics: A Critical Review, Williams, R., Wienroth, M. Jul 2017, In: Forensic Science Review

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: Conference talk: "Blurred Lines. The new political economy of forensic genetics" 2022
Other: International conference panel convenor: "Confluences of genetics and digital data in security settings" (EASST 2022) 2022
Invited talk: Invited Talk: (Un-)knowing the human in biometric surveillance. Thoughts on uncertainty, ignorance, and rights. 2022
Other: Written expert statement on new technologies and the application of law to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee. 2021
Other: Written expert statement on possible issues arising from emerging technological developments in policing to the Independent Advisory Group on Emerging Technologies in Policing to Scottish Government 2021
Other: Invited member of the Evidence & Scientific Standards work stream, Independent advisory group on emerging technologies in policing, Scottish Government 2021
Invited talk: Towards inclusive, anticipatory policymaking. Considering key values in & for practice. 2021
Oral presentation: ‘Crisis’, Control & Crimmigration: Biometric Surveillance in the Policing of Migration 2021
Other: WIE-DNA network statement on the decision to close down the Charite's world-renowned forensic DNA lab 2021
Membership of board: Ethics Board - 'Digital DNA' European Research Council Starter Grant (External organisation) 2021