Michelle Bootcov, who has a PhD in both history and molecular immunology, is a historian of medical science and technology. In her previous project on the elucidation of hepatitis B, she researched the late twentieth century transformation of virology. She is a co-investigator with Prof Alison Bashford on the twentieth century history of dermatoglyphics , which is the statistical study of fingerprints and creases of the hand and feet by geneticists, anatomists and anthropologists.