SPRING 2020
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ONLINE MUSEUM
Students (all members of The University of Texas at San Antonio Honors College) put a tremendous amount of work and research into this exhibit. All topics were gathered in the context of the course, Monstrous Medicine: Medical Experimentation in U.S. Historical Contexts.
FATIMA ABED
Major: Medical Humanities
Minors: Biology, Sociology
Class of 2021
Contributed: Got (Radioactive) Milk?, ¿Estoy Embarazada?, Sowing Dioxin, From Graveyard to Cadaver Lab, TB or not TB Trusted?, and “Packing” the Mentally Ill.
I feel that medical experimentation history from the perspective of the vulnerable populations experimented on is important because it allows us to humanize their experiences and acknowledge how American medicine had a “monstrous” side.
I plan to become a physician with an emphasis on preventive care and addressing health care disparities.
ADAKU (ADA) AGOH
Major: Biology
Class of 2020
Contributions: Women in Prisons Contribution to the Army, Monster Study, Operation Ocean Spray, Operation Big Itch, Preventative Drug That Did More Harm Than Good, Holmesburg Prisoners
Medical experimentation is very important topic that should be researched because many of the discoveries found in theses studies influenced science and medicine today.
I am pursuing a future in medicine and its important to acknowledge the horrific experiments the researchers performed on vulnerable populations. From this website, I hope you gain a better understanding of the history behind healthcare as we know it today.
AFFIONG AKPANINYANG
Major: Biochemistry
Class of 2020
Contributed: Does Brand Matter? (Condoms), Depo Provera, The Dalkon Shield...It Did More Than Shield Against Pregnancy, CA125 and Ovarian Cancer Experimentation, AIDS in Africa (AZT)...Budget Before Treatment, Not Enough Color - Racial/ Ethnic Disparity in Clinical Research
Medical history is a subject that needs to be taught more, because many people are not aware of the dark history medicine has. I was one of those people, and I want to be a doctor. It is important that events are not repeated, and vulnerable populations that were once exploited are never exploited again.
I plan to be an OB/GYN, and I intend to help put an end to racial and ethnic disparities in obstetrics and gynecology. I also plan to open a women's clinic in my home country, Nigeria.
AIMEE CARRILLO
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Class of 2021
Contributed: Fearing the Furry, U.S. Biological Lab Behind Bars in Bilibid, It’s Complicated: C-Sections in U.S. Medicine, Warning! High Voltage May Cause Electric Shock, Burn, or Death, “Cutting”-Edge Technology, and Designer Baby
I believe it is important to study the history of medical experimentation, because it allows me to better understand the vulnerable populations and ethical considerations that must be taken into account when researching and working in the field of biomedical engineering.
I plan to become a biomedical engineer and develop new medical devices, specifically for people with disabilities.
MICHAEL COLE CARTER
Major: Public Health
Minor: Biology
Class of 2020
Contributed: Stanford Medical Experimentation, Homosexual Electroshock Therapy, Lobotomy for "Mentally Ill", Electroshock in Children, Tuskegee experimentation, Willowbrook Hepatitis in Children.
I believe it is important to study the history of medical experimentation due to the fact that researchers and physicians must learn from previous mistakes and make changes to modern medicine. Specifically, medical ethics is a primary factor in which the history of experimentation can help us make positive implementations.
In the future I plan on becoming a physician.
JADE FOLLETTE
Major: English
Minors: Film Studies, Computer Science
Class of 2020
Contributed: Vanderbilt Nutrition Study, Operation Midnight Climax, Electrode Brain Implants, Transgender Conversion Therapy, Experimental Hormone Injections, and Psychic Driving.
It is important to look at the history of medical experimentation through the lens of particularly vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ people and racial minorities, in order to gain a clearer understanding and context of the difficulties those groups have faced in the past.
I plan to eventually become an author, and I intend on continuing to contribute my voice in politics, particularly in those concerning LGBTQ issues.
LYNDSAY MILLICAN
Major: Biology
Minor: Psychology
Class of 2020
Contributed: Ellis Island Immigrants, Phrenology’s Dark History, Mental Health Reformer Elizabeth Packard, Electroshock Therapy for “Geriatric” Patients, The Women Who Endured the First Successful Ovariotomies, and Families Affected by the Tuskegee Experiments
I believe it is important to be well-informed about the history of medical experimentation, because it allows us to take the vulnerable populations into perspective and respect their background even more.
In the future, I plan on becoming an OB/GYN and I hope to implement what I have learned from medical history and apply it to patient care.
CAMERON MOHAMMADI
Major: Biology
Class of 2023
Contributed: Mustard Gas Testing on US Soldiers, Edgewood Hallucinogen Tests, Los Angeles Study, HeLa Cell Injection Experiments, Clitoridectomy
It is pivotal that we analyze medical experimentation in history in order to shed light on the dark nature of medical professionals of the past. Better understanding of the ethical factors for vulnerable populations is important to be remembered and considered for future physicians so history cannot repeat itself.
I plan on becoming an ophthalmologist
NATALIE PULIDO
Major: Medical Humanities
Minor: Anthropology
Class of 2021
Contributed: Tetanus in Infants, Anarcha's Speculum, Ether as Anesthesia, Ovariotomy, and America's First Birth Control Pill
I feel it is important to review the history of medical experimentation because we have always learned about it from the perspective of those who have benefited, and not the vulnerable populations who have suffered.
I plan on becoming a physician assistant to focus on women's health.
JACOB QUINTANILLA
Major: Public Health
Minor: Biology
Class of 2022
Contributed: Chemical Testing on Animals, Osteomyelitis Experimentation on Animals, Consent of Stem Cell Research, Gene Therapy Experimentation, SELF Experimentation, LSD Experimentation on French Civilians (CIA Operation)
I feel it is important to give light to the experimentation conducted on animals because this is a platform to get the message out, they are living beings as well.
I plan on becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon.
KARA RAFUSE
Major: Microbiology and Immunology
Class of 2020
Contributed: Pediatric Spinal Tap, Fetal Tissue Used to Develop a Vaccine for Polio, Infant Arterial Pressure Study, U.S. Syphilis Study in Guatemala, Right to Try, Sterilization of Black Women
I feel it is important to review the history of medical experimentation because we need to better understand where the information and regulations we have today and where they came from and the vulnerable populations that suffered in the hands of science.
I plan to become a physician assistant to focus on pediatric care.
MADISON ROYER
Major: Biology
Class of 2022
Contributions: Mescaline, Bloodletting, 1st Antipsychotic, Civil War Amputations, Mass Castration, Henrietta Lacks and Cervical Cancer Treatment at Johns Hopkins in 1950s
Medical experimentation needs to be taught to each generation in order to fill the gaps in history that has left many vulnerable populations left behind. It is important to recognize the faults we have within our medical system in order to ensure that none of it happens again.
I plan to become a physician's assistant to focus on emergency medicine.
PRANJAL UPADHYAYA
Major: Medical Humanities
Minor: Biology
Class of 2020
Contributed: Total Body Irradiation, Plutonium Injections during the Manhattan Project, Operation Green Run (Radioactive Fallout), Silver Spring Monkeys Testing, Bacterial Injections in Army Veterans, and Biological Weapon Experimentation on U.S Veterans.
Medical experimentation is significant because it tells us about the dark historical upbringing of scientific and technological innovations. We must be aware of this historical path that was taken and honor those individuals who were affected.
I plan to become a Sports Medicine Physician.
DEVYN WAITS
Major: Digital Communication
Class: 2022
Contributed: Project 4.1, James Quinn Artificial Heart Case, Craniology, San Quentin Testicular Experiment, and Wilderness Heights Sanitarium
I think it is important to analyze the history of medical experimentation on marginalized populations because we can not only give them a voice, but also use their tribulations to create a better tomorrow and make sure that history is not repeated.
I plan to become a multimedia animator and storyboard artist.