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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 4h

🧬 🧫 Looking forward to participating in the "Harnessing African Genetic Diversity as a Global Resource for Public Health" meeting. I will be discussing the risks, benefits, and limitations of genomics for health in this context. More info here: www.icgeb.org/african-gene...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I’m glad to have contributed to this project as a coauthor of Chapter 12 which is titled “Toward inclusive medical education, research, and practice: Removing race from genetics”. It was written by Fernandez, Msimang, Uren, and Petersen. Find the chapter here: doi.org/10.1016/B978...

Cover of the edited collection "Decolonizing Medical Education, Research, and Practice" edited by Faadiel Essop.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Postdoc available in the RACES Initiative for those interested in working at the intersection of race and racism, science, and institutional culture. See the ad attached for more details. Applications close on the 30th of September 2026: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Next week I will have the pleasure of presenting my work on the intersection of race, politics, and international relations at Rhodes University’s Department of Political and International Studies in their Teach-In Series of 2026. See more about the Teach-In Series here: lnkd.in/dT4qcWdt

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

A summer school on biology and society.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Here's a report on the use of race in the health sciences at a South African University based on a symposium I was involved in at that university. What I liked about the format was that we not only looked at known challenges but also proposed practical ways forward. www.linkedin.com/posts/msiman...

linkedin.com

UCT Faculty of Health Sciences Symposium on Race in Health Sciences | Phila M. Msimang posted on the topic | LinkedIn

I recently had the pleasure of receiving this report. It is about a symposium I presented a keynote on the use of race in the health sciences. This symposium was hosted by the UCT Faculty of Health Sc...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

It has gotten off to a great start.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

I am about to present in this exciting workshop.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

1/13 Check out our new chapter, Philosophy and Race Science, co-authored with Sahotra Sarkar for The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Race. In it, we track the historical development, the temporary retreat, and the subsequent reincarnation of race as a biological concept: doi.org/10.4324/9781...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Please follow and share this profile - announcements of their upcoming talks in the philosophy of biology will be shared here on Bluesky.

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HUGERA @hugeraproject.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Prof. Duana Fullwiley (Stanford University) kicks off our spring speaker series with the talk “Into the Lab: Racial World Building and its Discontents” on February 3rd. You can register to attend via zoom here: hugera.org/lecture-seri...

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

The International Fellowships programme provides support for outstanding early career researchers. First identify a suitable mentor in the Faculty of Philosophy. Once you have obtained their agreement, send CV & expression of interest to philref@phil.cam.ac.uk by Thursday, 12 February 2026 #philsci

Eligibility Requirements
The applicant must:
• Have a PhD, or applicants in the final stages of their PhD will be accepted provided that the PhD will be completed (including viva) before the Final Awards Committee meets on the 1 June 2026.
• Applicants should have no more than five years of active full time postdoctoral experience at the time of application (discounting career breaks, but including teaching experience and/or time spent in industry).
• Be working outside the UK.
• Not hold UK citizenship.
• Be competent in oral and written English.
• Have a clearly defined and mutually-beneficial research proposal agreed with a UK host researcher.

Duration and Value of Award
The International Fellowships offer support for two years and the award is offered at 80% FEC.
Applicants may apply for research expenses of up to £12,000 and relocation costs of up to £8,000. Applicants will need to justify the level of research expenses and relocation costs requested in their application.
Applicants may also be eligible to receive follow on Alumni funding following the tenure of their Fellowship to support networking activities with UK-based or international researchers.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I am looking forward to being a part of this pre-conference panel.

A poster announcing the "Situating Philosophy" pre-conference panel being held at the University of the Western Cape Life Science Auditorium.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

One of the things I enjoyed this year was this interview with Rasmus Bitsch where Tessa (@tessamuldvarp.bsky.social) and I discuss the work we have been doing mapping the history of racial classification in South Africa. You can listen to this interview here: podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/a...

Screenshot of the ARC website hosting the podcast interview

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Microbiome research and race in the 'Local South' @localmicrobes.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

📣 Our second call for abstracts for our special issue is out! 🙌 If you work on the intersection of human microbiomes, ethics and society in Africa, this call is for you! Check it out there: sajs.co.za/call-human-d... If not, you can still spread the message widely! #histbio #philbio🐋🌱

sajs.co.za

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Last night I had the honour of being inducted into the South African Young Academy of Science.

It is hereby certified that Dr Phila Msimang has been elected a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) in recognition of significant achievement in the advancement and application of science.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Today was a good start to our second week at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study where Jonatan (the PI of our project) presented on the questions that have brought us together. The Q&A that we all participated in was quite interesting, too.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Here I was talking about the consequences of the changes in classifications (and who was labelled as belonging in them) for conceptualising biological studies. Our discussion focused on the use of such classifications in microbiome research.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

I’m looking forward to this conference by the Azanian Philosophical Society that will be hosted at Fort Hare this week. See the full conference programme at the bottom of this page: www.theaps.org/conference-a...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

We are also pleased to announce that our special issue for this event will be published by the South African Journal of Science.

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Microbiome research and race in the 'Local South' @localmicrobes.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Save the date! Interdisciplinary Workshop: The Human Diversity Dilemma: Navigating the Intersection of Microbiomes, Ethics, and Society in Africa #hpbio #histbio #philbio 🌱🐋 Check the Call for Abstracts for our special issue on our website: perspectivesrace.wixsite.com/the-human-di...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Here is an infographic that Tessa Moll (@tessamuldvarp.bsky.social) and I made about the development of racial classifications in South Africa from 1652 to the present. A paper explaining its content is in the works. For now, feel free to download the infographic here: dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.f...

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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

New today: Iyer et al., "African Genetic Ancestry, Structural and Social Determinants of Health, and Mortality in Black Adults," jamanetwork.com/journals/jam.... Tl;dr: It's the 2nd (social determinants) that most effect the 3rd (mortality), not the 1st (genetic ancestry). Yet look where funding is!

jamanetwork.com

African Genetic Ancestry, Social Determinants, and Mortality in Black Adults

This cohort study investigates the independent associations of African genetic ancestry and structural and social determinants of health with mortality among Black US adults.

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

"...for protests to succeed, they must be backed by movements with the ability to promise to withhold—labor, debt payments, rent payments, or consumer support—and to follow through if demands aren’t met." Glad to have gotten the opportunity to push this line in Time time.com/collections/...

time.com

Why Protests Should Be Promises

Modern movements that aim to advance racial equity should withhold and promise, rather than perform, writes Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

I enjoyed giving this presentation and the discussion that followed. I am thankful for the ROTO Research Group for having me.

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Microbiome research and race in the 'Local South' @localmicrobes.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Great lineup including our favorite philosophers Aline Potiron www.uu.nl/staff/AIPoti... and Phila Msimang @msimang.bsky.social. Don't miss these talks! #hpb 🐋🦠

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Here is a new blog post from our collaborative work in the CAT (Constructive Advanced Thinking) group on the history and ethics of the use and management of human remains.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

A sunny day out and about in Stellenbosch

Phila Msimang standing with his hands in his pockets on some stairs surrounded by green trees and shrubs.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Trump has sanctioned SA on the basis of misinformation produced and distributed by organisations like Afriforum (who went on a roadshow in the US spreading the myth of White genocide) and the SAIRR who misrepresent issues of race & policy in SA (e.g., see here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...).

africasacountry.com

What’s wrong with the South African Institute of Race Relations?

Surveys on race by South Africa’s Institute of Race Relations (IRR) are deeply flawed and cynically used. Its influence on mainstream politics is significant and dangerous.

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Had a great Gender, Race, & Science class today discussing @msimang.bsky.social's article "Prescribing Race: No Blank Scripts for Using Race & Ethnicity in Health" www.argumenta.org/wp-content/u... #philsci #MedSky #hpbio

argumenta.org

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Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 06/11/2024

I decided to go ahead and make a starter pack of historians, scientists, and others who work on scientific racism. If you’d like to be added to the pack (or removed from it), let me know. go.bsky.app/E9PN3oG

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The HPS Podcast @hpspodcast.bsky.social · 21/10/2024

We made another thing! Here is a pretty great 'HPS Starter Pack' so you too can follow all the awesome history, philosophy and social studies of science (and #metasci #histSTM #philsci #philsky #hps #histsci 🧪) accounts on Bluesky. Please share widely #academicsky :)

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Shahan Ali Memon @shahanmemon.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

SciSci starter packs! Adding a second starter pack here since we ran out of capacity with the first one: go.bsky.app/NeZvnb5 The first one can be found here: go.bsky.app/2R1E4TD Please nominate or self-nominate with an example work. Please share! #AcademicSky #SciSci #SciPol #metascience

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Gentle bits of snow in Freiburg ❄️

Light snow on the streets of Freiburg. Some figures are seen walking or standing on the sidewalks.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

We are giving our first presentation about this project today.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

If this interpretation of the new national guidelines is correct, this should be much bigger news than it is. We seem to be inviting a trouble that we are not ready for in respect to heritable human genome editing 🧬 theconversation.com/south-africa...

theconversation.com

South Africa amended its research guidelines to allow for heritable human genome editing

A recent change to South Africa’s national health research guidelines contains newly added language that appears to permit the use of genome editing to create genetically modified children.

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 31/10/2024

Your paper "Prescribing Race: No Blank Scripts for Using Race & Ethnicity in Health" gives a great philosophical overview of many of the issues! #philsci #bioethics www.argumenta.org/wp-content/u...

argumenta.org

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 31/10/2024

The NASEM have just released their report on the use of race in biomedical research. I look forward to seeing how they have approached this challenge because it is a central concern in some of my own research. See the report (and other resources) here: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2791...

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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 26/10/2024

We’re extending the deadline for our special collection on scientific racism to 31 August 2025. This is an important topic & we want to give more researchers the opportunity to contribute, & those committed more time to produce considered work. Manuscripts will be published online once accepted

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/09/2024

Greetings everyone! I am a philosopher that primarily works on the philosophy of race and its intersections with the sciences and social issues. I have interests in the philosophy of science (esp. biology), African philosophy, and epistemology. It would be great to connect with you. I am new here.

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