My research lies in the history and philosophy of science, with a particular emphasis on the philosophy of biology, health, and medicine. I am especially interested in questions about causation, explanation, modelling, measurement, idealization, laws of nature, values in science, theory change, and the history of twentieth-century philosophy of science.
Much of my current work focuses on obesity and metabolism research. I consider this a particularly promising and underexplored area for philosophical inquiry, as it draws on a wide range of scientific disciplines—including physiology, biochemistry, biophysics, neurobiology, epidemiology, and nutrition—while posing significant conceptual and methodological challenges. My research applies philosophical tools to illuminate these challenges within obesity science and uses obesity as a case study to address broader questions in the philosophy of science. Obesity is just one facet of a wider set of methodological and conceptual issues surrounding human metabolism.
I am also interested in the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and logic. I have taught courses in each of these fields and am currently pursuing projects related to them.
Wilbur Olin Atwater Papers. (1910). Subject emerging from large respiration calorimeter. Special Collections, USDA National Agricultural Library.
My doctoral research focuses on explanation and the role of values in obesity science. It explores multiple dimensions of scientific modelling within the field of obesity research, broadly conceived. Using obesity science as a case study, I develop novel arguments that engage with several central issues in the philosophy of science, including scientific representation, target system specification, model and variable choice, laws of nature, and the role of values in scientific practice. As groundwork for my doctoral dissertation, I have completed several projects examining case studies in obesity and metabolism research. These projects address key topics in the philosophy of science, such as robustness analysis, laws of nature, and interventionist approaches to causation.
Publications
(Under Review). Robustness Analysis and the Confirmation of Structural Constraints: The Case of Obesity Modelling. Biology and Philosophy.
Other Refereed Contributions
(2026). “Why Energy Balance Must Hold (and Why That Doesn’t Explain Obesity),” 51st Annual Meeting of the Society for Exact Philosophy (SEP). Vancouver, BC, Canada.
(2026). “Robustness Analysis and Models of Obesity,” Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2026: Philosophical Issues in the Life Sciences. London, ON, Canada.
Non Refereed Contributions
(2026). “Robustness Analysis and the Energy Balance Model of Obesity,” Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS). Halifax, NS, Canada.
(2025). “Philosophical Perspectives on the History of Causal Modelling in Obesity Research,” Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS). Toronto, ON, Canada.