Announcing the 41st Lecture Series

The C.F. Reynolds Medical History Society announces its 41st lecture season for the academic year 2024-2025. All lectures are free and open to the public via Zoom. They take place on Tuesday evenings from 6-7:15pm Eastern. Watch this space for the links, or join our email list.

September 24 ~ “Medicine’s Culture Brokers: The History of Miami and the Challenge of Diversity in Health Care” ~ Catherine Mas ~ Milton Meyer Michaels Lecture & Hispanic Heritage Month

A life-long Pittsburgher, Dr. Michaels (1927-2022) practiced Hematology and Internal Medicine and served as President of the Society.

November 12 ~ “Donora: A Look Back at the Worst Air Pollution Disaster in US History" ~ Andy McPhee ~ Sylvan Stool Lecture

Dr. Stool (1925-2004) was a beloved pediatric otolaryngologist at the University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

January 21~ University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health Lecture ~ TBA

February 25 ~ "Race-Concordant Care: Historical Insights and Ethical Challenges" ~ Wangui Muigai ~ University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine Lecture 

And in the evening: "Black Infant Mortality and the American Roots of a Health Inequality"

April 1 ~ “The Legacy of Infant Surgery without Anesthesia: Implications for Today” ~ Wendy Patrice Williams ~ Jonathon Erlen Lecture

Dr. Erlen (1946-2022) was the history of medicine librarian at the University of Pittsburgh for 35 years, until his retirement in 2019. He was a devoted teacher in the undergraduate, graduate, and health professions schools, winning the School of Medicine Curriculum Committee’s Excellence in Education Award in 2004 for his month-long elective in medical history. He was an active member of the American Association of the History of Medicine, the American Osler Society, and the Southern Association of the History of Medicine and Science (SAHMS). And for decades John was the linchpin of the Reynolds Society as its secretary, treasurer, and (pre-COVID) host extraordinaire. The fact that he is irreplaceable is evidenced by the fact that the two of us (Kristen and Adam) barely fill his shoes. In particular, we remember John as a mentor to students and to up-and-coming scholars such as ourselves, introducing us to the authors of our favorite books and reviewing our papers before we presented them. If you never received an email with a list of recent dissertations that he thought you would find interesting, then you missed out on a unique gesture of friendship. 

The C.F. Reynolds Medical History Society thanks its dues-paying members and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Bioethics and Health Law for its support of the continuing relevance of medical history in our world.