Terminology and the Construction of Scientific Disciplines: The Case of Pharmacogenomics

This article explores the way in which social explanations underpin the names of particular disciplines. Taking the example of pharmacogenomics (a spin-off from the Human Genome Project), it shows how this term has been constructed since it appeared in 1997, the differences and similarities between it and its precursor, pharmacogenetics, and the way in which commercial interests underpin this new term. Drawing on the idea of visions and the sociology of expectation, the article shows how different actors compete to have their preferred definitions of the term accepted by the world at large.