Transition in Rare Diseases

This lecture series is organized by the RDSRC as a part of a joint project entitled “Transition in Rare Diseases” between the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2024-2026, Co-PIs: M. Rajtar and Eva-Maria Knoll/ISA AAS). Lectures are offered online. To participate, please contact Małgorzata Rajtar at mrajtar@ifispan.edu.pl.

Forthcoming lecture

28.05.2026 – Christine Sargent, PhD (Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver), Who’s normal; Whose normal?: Making Down syndrome

15.06.2026 – Dr. Barbara Wittmann (European Ethnology, Otto-Friedrich-University of Bamberg): No care at all. Ethnological perspectives on the lack of medical support for ME/CFS patients and their families

23.06.2026 – Dr Eva-Maria Knoll (Institute for Social Anthropology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences): TBA. This lecture will be offered in-person (Staszic Palace, Rm. 161, Warsaw) and online.

Previous lectures

28.04.2026 – Karolina M. Stepien MD, PhD (Salford Royal Organization/Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust; Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester and University of Liverpool), Transition in Urea Cycle Disorders: Principles, challenges, strategies. Results of a multi-centre study

24.03.2026 – Samiksha Bhan (PhD Candidate, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), Dis/abling cure: Medical humanitarianism and the transition from management to therapy for Thalassemia-affected in India

6.11.2025 – Prof. Dr. Anika König (Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin), From Expert Patients to Patient Detectives: People with Rare Diseases’ Involvement in the Production of Medical Knowledge

3.06.2025 – Dr. med. Ursula Unterberger (Orphanet Austria, Medical University Vienna), Rare Diseases in Austria

20.02.2025 – Dr Caroline Culen (Austrian League for Child and Adolescent Health), Lost in Transition – Young people in transition from paediatrics to adult medicine