Elizabeth Jones

I am a historian of science and a PhD student in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London. I studied History and Philosophy as an undergraduate at North Carolina State University, and studied History and Philosophy of Science as a graduate student at Florida State University. I am trained in Paleontology through education and experience and worked as the Paleontology Technician for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

For my PhD project, I am writing a history of ancient DNA research. Ancient DNA research - the search for genetic material in ancient and extinct organisms - is a contemporary, interdisciplinary, and controversial set of technological and scientific practices. It emerged from the interface of paleontology, archeology, and molecular biology in the 1980s. For this work, my research question is: "How has ancient DNA research evolved from an emergent into an established technological and scientific practice?" To answer this question, my research method is oral history through interviews with ancient DNA and related researchers. I use scientists' stories to help write my story of the history of ancient DNA research.