Social-to-biological transitions research: review of progress and development

Abstract

The present text builds on an earlier publication* which had the same aim: namely, to encourage clarity and coherence in the interdisciplinary area we called social-to-biological transitions. This burgeoning area of research involves a complex workforce with differing career levels and disciplinary traditions, reflecting which the present authors comment from different perspectives (one author from each of early career research, epidemiology, biology and public health) and invite debate. (* Blane, D., Kelly-Irving, M., d'Errico, A., Bartley, M. and Montgomery, S. (2013) Social-biological transitions: how does the social become biological?, Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 4(2): 136-46.).

Keywords: interdisciplinary research; positive health; social-to-biological transitions.