Research groups
Elspeth Davies
Qualitative Researcher
Biography
A medical anthropologist by background, my research seeks to understand some of the social and ethical issues surrounding cancer early detection. I am particularly interested in in medicalisation and (over)diagnosis, injustices and inequalities, and the relationship between academia and activism.
I am currently working on Cancer Research UK’s ‘Test, Evidence, Transition’ programme, which seeks to equitably and effectively optimise colorectal cancer diagnostic pathways across the country. In my department, I co-lead the Diagnosis Special Interest Group and am a trained harassment adviser. I also supervise students on the MSc in Applied Digital Health.
I am writing a book based on my doctoral thesis, which followed the development of a novel tool for screening for oesophageal cancer risk. My thesis explored questions surrounding what it might mean to live 'at risk' of disease - for the people who become patients, and for the clinicians, healthcare services and communities that must care for these people who are not 'ill' but might be in the future.
Outside of my department, I am a Junior Research Fellow at Linacre College and a Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, where I contribute to teaching on issues related to health, medicine, gender and care.
I am always happy to hear from potential future students and collaborators.
Recent publications
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How do we talk about overdiagnosis of mental health conditions without dismissing people's suffering?
Journal article
Davies E. and Salisbury H., (2025), BMJ, 389
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‘Why Don't We Get Counselling?’: Comparing NICE Guidelines for Morphological and Genetic Cancer Risk Diagnoses
Journal article
Davies E., (2025), Cancer Medicine, 14
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Impact of alternative diagnostic labels for melanoma in situ on management choices and psychological outcomes: protocol for an online randomised study
Journal article
Wu Z. et al, (2024), BMJ Open, 14
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Overdiagnosis and Barrett's oesophagus: a call for clarity.
Journal article
Davies E., (2024), BMJ evidence-based medicine
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Ambivalent Speculations: Learning to Live with Barrett's Esophagus in the UK Using Facebook Support Groups.
Journal article
Davies E., (2024), Med Anthropol, 1 - 14
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Pluralising Cancer
Journal article
Davies E., (2024), Medicine Anthropology Theory, 11, 1 - 11
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'This has given me the peace of mind I needed': ethnographic insights into Barrett's oesophagus screening using the capsule sponge test
Journal article
Davies E., (2024), Journal of Medical Ethics
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Cancer and the Politics of Care: Inequalities and Interventions in Global Perspective By Linda RaeBennett, LenoreManderson, BelindaSpagnoletti, London: University College London Press. 2023. pp. 272.
Journal article
Davies E., (2023), Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 37, 439 - 440
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Informed by research, transformed by research
Journal article
Davies E., (2023), BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, 29, 62 - 63
Media
Podcast episodes:
In Conversation with Elspeth Davies, Rupal Shah and Jens Foell. (2025, February 3). Intellect Books & Journals. Available here.
Acquiring Bodies, Reworking Social Determinants, and Facebook Ethnography (Elspeth Davies). (2024, September 18). Apollo. Available here.
Rigney, Jane. 2024. On medical anthropology, understanding ‘risk’ and barriers to achieving interdisciplinarity in the world of cancer prevention: an interview with Elspeth Davies. Cancer Presentation and Screening Blog: Queen Mary University of London. Available here.
Armstrong, Emily. 2022. Acing it: The ambitious early career researchers driving progress in cancer early detection. Cancer Research UK Website. Available here.