Hello! I am a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. My scholarly pursuits encompass environmental and animal history, as well as the histories of science, technology, and medicine, with specific interests in zoonoses, biomedicine, and public health. Additionally, I explore food and foodways, and Southeast Asian studies, often centring my research on my homeland, the Philippines. Through my work, I endeavour to bridge the realms of history and public policy, particularly within the emerging field of health-environmental humanities, to address contemporary issues in health, food, and the environment.
My doctoral research focused on the historical animal geographies and the development of modern health in the Philippines during the colonial nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I earned my PhD from the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Hong Kong in 2021, following an MA in History from Ateneo de Manila University in 2015.
Previously, I served as a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong’s Department of History and at Ateneo de Manila University’s Health Sciences Program and Department of History. I also held a postdoctoral fellowship in the Division of Environment and Sustainability at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Since 2012, I have taught in both Manila and Hong Kong, offering courses on Philippine history, Southeast Asian history, historiography, digital games in history, and the history of animals and food. I have also supervised numerous undergraduate theses and capstone projects.
My research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Society & Animals, Global Food History, Energy Strategy Reviews, Climate Risk Management, Electricity Journal, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, and East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal. I have contributed several book chapters and articles to prestigious publications, including those by Routledge and the University of Hawai’i Press.
I serve as the Book Review Editor for the Majority World section of the Animal History Journal. My work has garnered several accolades, including the 2021-22 Wang Gungwu Prize for Research Postgraduate Students for the best thesis of the year, the Young Historian’s Prize 2022 from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Republic of the Philippines, and a shortlisting for the ICAS Book Prize 2023 – Best Dissertation in the Humanities, awarded by the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden, The Netherlands.
In my leisure time, I enjoy exploring beaches, indulging in food trips, and visiting museums throughout Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia.
Contact me: ludovice@connect.hku.hk
