Sergio Sismondo, Queen's University

Research

science medicine corruption knowledge democracy trust post-truth

Latest papers

Lacunalogy.
Social studies of science · 2025 · first author
How big is the medical writing industry? Why it matters.
Health promotion international · 2025 · senior author
How an opioid giant deployed a playbook for moulding doctors' minds.
BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024 · first author

All 17 publications

Latest funding

Epistemic Corruption
SSHRC · 2022 · Principal investigator
$88,790
Epistemic Corruption
SSHRC · 2022 · Principal investigator
$54,494
Ghost-management in the pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical sectors: Dynamics and implications for Canadian political economy
SSHRC · 2021 · Co-investigator
$153,708

All 9 grants and awards

17 publications.

01

Lacunalogy.

Sismondo S, Coxon K

Social studies of science2025First author

DOI: 10.1177/03063127251398709 PMID: 41347326

02

How big is the medical writing industry? Why it matters.

Bernisson M, Sismondo S

Health promotion international2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daaf146 PMID: 40910282

03

How an opioid giant deployed a playbook for moulding doctors' minds.

Sismondo S, Bernisson M

BMJ (Clinical research ed.)2024First author

DOI: 10.1136/bmj.q1208 PMID: 38857923

04

Promoting opioids, a story about how to influence medical science and opinions.

Bernisson M, Sismondo S

Frontiers in medicine2024Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1327939 PMID: 38737766

05

Industry Relationships With Medical Oncologists: Who Are the High-Payment Physicians?

Wright K, Meyers DE, Chisamore TM, McInnes MDF, Sismondo S, Gyawali B, Prasad V, Booth CM

JCO oncology practice2022

DOI: 10.1200/op.21.00756 PMID: 35696634

06

Tax credits for pharmaceutical research, development and marketing?

Sismondo S

The International journal of risk & safety in medicine2022First author

DOI: 10.3233/jrs-227018 PMID: 35275563

07

Epistemic Corruption, the Pharmaceutical Industry, and the Body of Medical Science.

Sismondo S

Frontiers in research metrics and analytics2021First author

DOI: 10.3389/frma.2021.614013 PMID: 33870067

08

Access to Medicines, Access to Markets.

Sismondo S

Frontiers in sociology2020First author

DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2020.00058 PMID: 33869464

09

Academic lives and cultures.

Sismondo S

Social studies of science2019First author

DOI: 10.1177/0306312719886138 PMID: 31694501

10

Casting a wider net: A reply to Collins, Evans and Weinel.

Sismondo S

Social studies of science2017First author

DOI: 10.1177/0306312717721410 PMID: 28791928

Epistemic Corruption

Principal investigatorSSHRC2022Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Sismondo, Sergio

Keywords: science; medicine; corruption; knowledge; democracy; trust; post-truth

$88,790

Epistemic Corruption

Principal investigatorSSHRC2022Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Sismondo, Sergio

Keywords: science; medicine; corruption; knowledge; democracy; trust; post-truth

$54,494

Ghost-management in the pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical sectors: Dynamics and implications for Canadian political economy

Co-investigatorSSHRC2021Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Gagnon, Marc-Andre

Keywords: ghost-management; business organizations; pharmaceuticals; agricultural chemicals; regulatory capture; techno-scientific capitalism; scientific capture; civil society capture; collaboration agreements; conflicts of interest

$153,708

Hegemony of knowledge and the pharmaceutical industry

Principal investigatorSSHRC2010Standard Research Grants program

Principal investigators: Sismondo, Sergio

Keywords: pharmaceuticals; medical knowledge; pharmaceutical industry; politics of knowledge

$62,270

Science, Business, and Ethics: Justifications in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Nominated PICIHR2009Catalyst Grant: Ethics

Principal investigators: Sismondo, Sergio

Keywords: Descriptive Ethics; Ghost Management; Medical Information; Publication Planning

$77,600

Trust in Science

Principal investigatorSSHRC2006Aid to Research Workshops and Conferences in Canada

Principal investigators: Sismondo, Sergio F.

Keywords: science; technology; trust; expertise; controversy; popularization; science journalism; public understanding of science

$25,000

Science and technology studies/history & philosophy of science

Co-investigatorSSHRC2005Strategic Research Clusters Design Grants

Principal investigators: McOuat, Gordon R.

$25,000

Pharmaceuticals: natures of research and distributions of knowledge

Principal investigatorSSHRC2005Standard Research Grants

Principal investigators: Sismondo, Sergio F.

Keywords: pharmaceutical industry; pharmaceutical research; drugs; medicine; science & technology studies; commercialization; epistemology

$51,109

Metaphysics of scientific practice

Principal investigatorSSHRC2000Standard Research Grants

Principal investigators: Sismondo, Sergio

Keywords: scientific practice; philosophy of science; applied science

$28,688

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2022

Subject: Prospective PhD student: science Dear Professor Sismondo, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Lacunalogy." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Epistemic Corruption" (2022), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]