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Richard McKay

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Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge

I am trained as both an academic historian and a professional coach. I have expertise in the history of epidemics, public health, HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted infections. My research has been published in "Nature" and the "Bulletin of the History of Medicine."

My book, "Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic" (University of Chicago Press, 2017), was named by CHOICE Review as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2018 and produced as a documentary feature film, "Killing Patient Zero" (Fadoo Productions, 2019). The film won the American Historical Association's 2020 John E. O'Connor Award for outstanding presentation of history through film (documentary category).

As a coach, I work primarily with academics, executives, and other high-performing thought leaders, with a burgeoning interest in clients who seek a rich and fulfilling retirement.

Experience

  • 2013–present
    Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
  • 2011–2012
    Economic & Social Research Council Research Fellow, King's College London

Education

  • 2011 
    University of Oxford, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in History
  • 2007 
    University of Oxford, Master of Sciences in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology
  • 2000 
    University of British Columbia, Bachelor of Arts: Film and TV Studies Major, History Minor

Publications

  • 2020
    'Why Do We Do What We Do: The Values of the Social History of Medicine', Social History of Medicine
  • 2020
    The History of Science and Medicine in the Context of COVID-19, Centaurus
  • 2017
    Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
  • 2016
    '1970s and "Patient 0" HIV-1 genomes illuminate early HIV/AIDS history in North America', Nature
  • 2014
    '"Patient Zero": The Absence of a Patient's View of the Early North American AIDS Epidemic', Bulletin of the History of Medicine

Grants and Contracts

  • 2012
    Before HIV: Homosex and Venereal Disease, c.1939-1984
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Wellcome Trust

Professional Memberships

  • Royal Historical Society
  • Society for the Social History of Medicine
  • American Association for the History of Medicine
  • American Historical Association
  • International Coaching Federation

Honours

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society