Addressing Systemic Diseases: Perspectives from the Social and Biomedical Sciences. Research Questions and Ongoing Projects

In this session, Catherine Cavalin and Alain Lescoat will address systemic autoimmune diseases from an interdisciplinary perspective. They will present their long-term research on the nosology and etiology of these diseases—which are most often taught in medical schools as having “complex” or “unknown” causes—as well as ongoing research on these topics. In particular, they will discuss the historical evolution of knowledge regarding the environmental and occupational determinants of these diseases.

Catherine Cavalin is a CNRS research fellow in sociology at Cermes3 (Center for Research on Medicine, Science, Health, Mental Health, and Society). Her interdisciplinary work draws on sociology, contemporary history, economics, and statistics. This research examines social inequalities in health, as well as the history and sociology of knowledge regarding systemic diseases of supposedly “unknown” origin in medicine and epidemiology.

Alain Lescoat is a university professor and hospital practitioner in the Department of Internal Medicine and Immunology at the Rennes University Hospital and the University of Rennes. He coordinates the Reference Center for Rare Systemic Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Diseases in Adults in Northern France, Northwestern France, the Mediterranean Region, and Guadeloupe (CeRAINOM) in Rennes.