Dr Faranak Hardcastle

I am a sociotechnical researcher investigating how we can intervene in the development of science and technology to direct them towards a point where their harms are reduced and their benefits are more equitably distributed. With over a decade of research experience in areas such as AI, Personalised Medicine, and more recently, energy transition, I draw on insights from web science, sociology, STS, and science communication and collaborate across disciplines to develop and apply novel inter- and post-disciplinary approaches for understanding sociotechnical challenges and designing interventions to mobilise change. This may include integrating qualitative, computational, participatory, critical/speculative design, and system mapping methods. 

In my current role at CPAS I am particularly interested in how the stories we tell shape the relationship between science, society, and the environment, and how these evolving dynamics, in turn, influence our capacities to imagine, communicate, and act through new narratives.

I am currently a Visiting Fellow in Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education (University of Southampton). Prior to joining CPAS I worked as a Research Fellow at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, at University of Oxford, the department of Medicine at the University of Southampton, and the School of Sociology, Politics and International Relations at the University of Bristol.