Topic description: 
A central task for historians and philosophers of science is to characterize and analyze the epistemic practices in a given science. The epistemic practices of a science include setting its goals or aims, and using certain methods to achieve these goals. My dissertation project addressed the epistemic practices in gene expression research spanning the mid-twentieth century to the twenty-first century. I assess some of the standard historical narratives of the molecular life sciences to clarify certain philosophical problems with respect to reduction, emergence, and representation, and offer new ways with which to think about the development of scientific research and the nature of scientific change. I will present some of this research here.

Biographical note:
Valérie Racine has a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from McGill University, a second Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Concordia University. She transferred to ASU’s Center for Biology and Society after beginning her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. With a background in philosophy of science, Valérie went to ASU to learn more about research methods in molecular genetics and genomics and to develop her dissertation project on the interaction between different investigative strategies in research on genetic regulation. She recently completed her PhD in History and Philosophy of Science at ASU and will begin a position as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Western New England University in 2017.