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Dr Salim Al-Gailani

Dr Salim Al-Gailani

BA MPhil PhD

  • Position Governing Body Fellow
  • School Humanities and Social Sciences Department of History and Philosophy of Science
  • Email ssa32@cam.ac.uk
  • Department link

Salim is a historian of medicine specialising in the history of modern reproduction, public health, and disability. He teaches in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

Dr Salim Al-Gailani

Salim has a BA in History from UCL, and an MPhil and PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge. After completing his PhD on the history of antenatal care in Britain, he joined the Wellcome Trust-funded ‘Generation to Reproduction’ Strategic Award at Cambridge as a Research Associate. He held a fellowship at the University of Manchester at Teaching Associateships at Cambridge before being appointed to an Assistant Professorship in 2020.


 

Broadly interested in the histories of modern medicine, biomedical sciences and public health, Salim's research has explored transformations in the experience and management of pregnancy and childbirth since the late nineteenth century, from the rise of hospital birth to the introduction of new technologies prenatal diagnosis.

Much of Salim's current work has focused on the relationship between medicine, disability, and reproduction, including how disability becomes defined, medicalized, and marginalized in modern British history. He is currently working on a book that examines the history of folic acid as a technology of pregnancy, with its implications beyond reproduction for the globalization of biomedical knowledge, the management of risk and the role of consumer activism in shaping public health policy.

Salim has also published widely on the visual and material and cultures of science and medicine, including toy chemistry sets, nutritional supplements, anatomical images, and educational films.

What's on

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ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Sculpture Trail: Richard Bray

24/10/2026 at 10.00

ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ is delighted to showcase the work of acclaimed Cambridgeshire-based artist and sculptor, Richard Bray MRSS. 

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Volunteer Connect

26/10/2026 at 18.00

Pizza, conversation, support and skills for student volunteers.

Poster for Richard Bray’s Rhythm ^ Space, featuring abstract black layered sculptures, oversized overlapping typography, and red accents against a grey background.

Art Exhibition: 'Rhythm ∧ Space'

01/11/2026 at 10.00

ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ is delighted to showcase the work of acclaimed Cambridgeshire-based artist and sculptor, Richard Bray MRSS. 

A crowd gathers at a nighttime vigil or protest, with a person holding up a large black-and-white portrait photograph above the surrounding attendees in a busy city street.

A murder in Malta – the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia

03/11/2026 at 17.30

What can the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia tell us about journalism, corruption and justice in Malta?

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Science Pub Quiz

03/11/2026 at 19.15

Come test your science knowledge (and impress your friends) at the ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½ Science Pub Quiz!

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