Bridie Andrews

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An assistant professor of the history of medicine at Harvard, Bridie Andrews is interested in the history of Chinese medicine; gender in Asian history, science, and medicine; and East Asia in the modern world order. A revised version of her dissertation, “The Making of Modern Chinese Medicine,” is to be published in late 2001 by Cambridge University Press. In the manuscript, she examines the transfer to and assimilation of Western medical science in China, using sources from both traditions.

As a Radcliffe fellow, Andrews will work on a history of acupuncture, the therapy that defines modern Chinese medicine. Her research will include an investigation into the practices of moxibustion (the burning of moxa leaves on or near the skin) and minor surgery in late imperial and modern China. In her book, Andrews aims to explain how these vulgar, hands-on techniques became respectable.

Andrews, who studied Chinese at Xiamen University in China, earned her PhD in the history of medicine from the University of Cambridge. She was the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon fellowship in the humanities at the University of Pennsylvania and a Wellcome Trust postdoctoral fellowship at the University of London.