Five-year, £1.4 million project to reveal "unsung heroes" of biomedicine

The “unsung heroes” of brain surgery, disease cures, biomedicine breakthroughs and medical ethics will reveal their thinking in a wide-reaching £1.4 million project which will spend five years interviewing hundreds of experts.

Professor Tillli Tansey, from Queen Mary, University of London, will lead the unprecedented rundown of medical miracles in the past century, conducting 130 individual interviews thanks to the backing of a £1.4 million Wellcome Trust award.

"They are the hidden pioneers of medicine," says the medical historian and former neuroscientist, who is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

"We want to preserve the stories of the technicians, nurses, patients, carers, funders and journalists, among others."

The campaign will also hold 20 witness seminars – chaired discussions between figures who have been at the cutting edge of medical advances and discoveries – as part of the new History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group at the university.

It looks likely to result in a potentially vital resource for future scientific exploration and public education, as the budget places an emphasis on archive materials and an online library.

• Visit the group online for more.