Technology has always intersected with the human body, from the food that we eat to the clothes we wear, the jobs we do, and the materials that make up our environment. The types of technology might vary – mechanical, industrial, electronic, and digital – but we have always responded to technology in ways that are embodied (visceral, sensorial and emotional).

Increasingly, digital and ‘intelligent’ technologies are transforming how we live, work, socialise, and care for ourselves and others. As part of the Digital Futures Institute, the Centre for Technology and the Body asks how we live well with these technologies, using the combined lenses of the arts and humanities with the health and social sciences. Together we can foster collaborations that respond to society’s big challenges.

Centre for Technology and the Body is co-directed by Dr Rachael Kent and Dr Dan Nicolau.

Dr Rachael Kent is a leading researcher, author, consultant, and podcast host, and a Senior Lecturer in Digital Economy & Society in the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London. Her work examines how digital technologies shape mental and physical health, behaviour and everyday life.

Dr Dan Nicolau is a mathematician, engineer and physician based in the Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology. His research focusses on using mathematics and computer science methods to better understand complex biological systems, particularly as they relate to disease states, inflammation and ageing.

They are joined by Associate Directors Dr Lili Golmohammadi (Research Associate in Digital Health Co-design) and Dr Ned Barker (Lecturer in Digital Culture and Technology).