Interests and Lines of Investigation

Interests

Director of the Unit of Social Research on Health and Rare Diseases - University of Valladolid.

Member of the Spanish-Portuguese Research Group in History of Polio, SPP and Marginalized Diseases (iberRARA) of USAL. Member of the research group "Experienciality" of the University of Seville (HUM 968) and external collaborator of the Compostela Group of Studies on Social Imaginaries.

My main line of research focuses on biosociology, sociology of health and especially of rare diseases. However, this research interest has arisen from the study of the social impact of techno-scientific activity, population changes (especially migration, although not exclusively) and the interrelationships between the two, in a broad sense. 

On the other hand, I have also worked on the application of hermeneutics as a methodological, epistemological and ontological tool to the study of all aspects surrounding science and health. In this sense I have been developing what I have called multidimensional sociohermeneutics. I have also focused on the use of semiotics (biosemiotics and sociosemiotics), as well as qualitative studies (interviews, focus groups, among others).

I have also researched on social imaginaries. In fact, I have been a disciple of Juan Luis Pintos and I have configured a particular perspective of conception of social imaginaries based on the confluence of rational and irrational elements of our psyche.

Lines researching

Social factors (such as ideology, social imaginaries, poverty, migration, etc.) that condition or are conditioned by technoscientific activity in general (biotechnology, energy alternatives, migration, etc.) and more specifically health. 

I am also interested in epistemological questions linked to rationality and progress, with the aim of seeking alternatives to current conceptions. 

I have used and implemented various qualitative (socio-hermeneutics, discourse analysis, documentary analysis, etc.), semi-quantitative (fuzzy logic, content analysis) and quantitative methodologies.