Dr Michelle Bootcov

Michelle Bootcov is a historian of medical science and technology, with undergraduate and postgraduate training in both history and genetics/molecular biology. She also has an interest in migrant and women's histories. Her current project is a 20^th century history of dermatoglyphics, the statistical study of inherited creases and ridges of the palms and soles, fingers and toes (such as fingerprints and the four-finger crease).

In her history PhD (UNSW, 2025), Michelle explored the mid-twentieth century intersection of virology, haematology and genetics through developments in hepatitis B basic and applied research. She found that in the 1960s-1990s hepatitis B research catalysed the transformation of viral diagnostics and sparked progress in blood transfusion services (before the emergence of HIV/AIDS). As early adopters of innovations in molecular biology, viral hepatitis researchers often led the way in the dramatic changes to their field. Michelle’s research on hepatitis progressed as the COVID-19 pandemic advanced, and surprisingly, she found that both the rapid antigen tests (RATs) and the PCR sequencing of viral variants, which became common knowledge during COVID-19, had historical antecedents in hepatitis B research of the 1960s to 1990s.

In her first PhD (molecular immunology, UNSW, 1995) Michelle discovered the MIC-1 gene (now also known as GDF-15). This cytokine plays a role in regulating appetite and metabolism, is a biomarker for the progression of some medical conditions (heart failure, kidney disease, and various cancers) and has a role in the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. The bioinformatics and computer skills that Michelle gained in that project diverted her to the corporate world for two decades, where she implemented the then new technologies of email and the web, before being lured back to academia to study the humanities.