Degree in Biological Science from the University of Oxford, and Master's and Doctorate in Science from the University of Sussex. He is currently Professor of Science Policy Studies at the Department of Science and Technology Studies of the Mathematical and Physical Science Faculty of University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom. His undergraduate teaching work covers the fields of Politics and Life Sciences, Science, arms and peace, perspectives on security and war, etc. At the doctorate level he has directed more than 20 theses on science and technology policies, life science developments in the social, political and economic context, etc.

He has pursued his research career in the fields of the nature of scientific practice, the role of experts in establishing science policy, in particular with regard to life sciences. His more specific interests combine historical and sociological approaches, and include: military technology and arms limitation, in particular the history of chemical and biological warfare, and biotechnology and genetics policies; scientific migrations and the "brain drain"; the role of volunteers in biomedical research; scientific policy and the sociology of science.

He has published dozens of book chapters and articles in indexed journals. He is the author of works such as Britain and Biological Warfare: Expert Advice and Science Policy 1935-65 (Palgrave, 2001) and Secrecy and Science: A Historical Sociology of Biological and Chemical Warfare (Routledge 2012). He has also co-edited such volumes as Absence in Science, Security and Policy: from Research Agendas to Global Strategies (Palgrave, 2015, Brian Rappert) and Science Policies and Twentieth Century Dictatorships: Spain, Italy and Argentina (Routledge, 2015, with Amparo Gómez and Antonio F. Canales).

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8130-8423