DOCSLIB.ORG

Monkey Trials: Science, Defamation, and the Suppression of Dissent Michael Kent Curtis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal Volume 4 | Issue 2 Article 4 Monkey Trials: Science, Defamation, and the Suppression of Dissent Michael Kent Curtis Repository Citation Michael Kent Curtis, Monkey Trials: Science, Defamation, and the Suppression of Dissent, 4 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 507 (1995), http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmborj/vol4/iss2/4 Copyright c 1995 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmborj MONKEY TRIALS: SCIENCE, DEFAMATION, AND THE SUPPRESSION OF DISSENT Michael Kent Curtis* In 1992, Rolling Stone magazine published "The Origin of AIDS. ?" The article explored a controversial and unconfirmed theory that the AIDS epidemic had been an inadvertent result of a polio vaccine trial conducted in Africa in the late 1950s. The researcher who conducted the African trials discussed by Rolling Stone sued the magazine for libel. He alleged that the article should be interpreted as asserting that he had caused the epidemic, that the AIDS-polio vaccine theory was false, and that it defamed him. Monkey Trials explores the controversial theory of the origin of AIDS and considers whether discussion (or advocacy) of such a hypothesis should be protect- ed by guarantees of free speech and press. It concludes that such complex criticism should be entitled to heightened protection, at least in those cases where the criti- cism is alleged to defame people with extraordinarypower to shape the world in which we live. A broad, objective, and powerful rule is required to protect "com- plex criticism" because of its contribution to understanding (even when it is mistak- en), and because complex criticism is often of great importance in setting the polit- ical agenda. [I]n many areas which are at the center of public debate "truth" is not a readily identifiable concept, and putting to the pre-existing prejudices of a jury the determination of what is "true" may effectively institute a system of censor- ship. Any nation which counts the Scopes trial as part of its heritage cannot so readily expose ideas to sanctions on a jury finding of falsity. Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 U.S. 374, 406 (1967) (Harlan, J., concurring). Professor of Law, Wake Forest University School of Law. I wish to thank David Anderson, William W. Van Alstyne, Dr. Cecil H. Fox, Alan Palmiter, Miles Foy, David Logan, Ronald Wright, Stephen Heyman, Tom Curtis, Edward J. Imwinkelried, Brian Martin, and my research assistants, Paul Goodson, Mark Leach, and John Hughes, for their assistance and comments on an earlier draft of this Article. I wish to thank John Perkins for his help in locating sources. Views expressed here are merely my own and do not represent those of any other person or institution. Mistakes and misconceptions are entirely my own. WILLIAM & MARY BILL OF RIGHTS JOURNAL [Vol. 4:2 Change in any complex system ultimately depends on the ability of outsiders to challenge accepted views and the reigning institutions. American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut, 771 F.2d 323, 332 (7th Cir. 1985) (Easterbrook, J.). TABLE OF CONTENTS I. A SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESIS MEETS DEFAMATION LAW ..... A. A Rolling Stone Article: "The Origin of AIDS ... ?". ....509 B. Scientific Reaction ................... .......... 515 C. To Test Or Not To Test ............... .......... 523 D. The Libel Suit ...................... .......... 526 E. Publication of the Elswood & Stricker Article ...... 530 .... F. The Science Defamation Conundrum ...... .......... 531 II. HYPOTHESIS AND SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION AS DEFAMATION ......................... .......... 534 A. The Rolling Stone Article .............. .......... 534 B. The Alar Controversy ................. .......... 535 C. The Journal of Medical Primatology Article .......... 538 III. CONFLICTING VALUES: FREE SPEECH, SCIENCE, AND DEFAMATION ...................... A. Defamation and Free Speech: The Nature of the Interests Involved ............................... 539 B. Libel Versus Free Speech: Historic Battles ............ 545 C. Current Status of the Public Figure Test ............. 551 D. Problems Bred by the Public Figure Test ............. 557 1. Strategic Use of Libel Lawsuits to Chill Speech ...... 557 2. Continued Influence of the Chilling Effect .......... 563 3. Lack of Bright-Line Rules Breeds Litigation ........ 564 IV. PROPOSED REFORMS .............................. 565 A. ExtraordinaryPower or Influence Should Make a Person a Public Figure ................................ 565 B. Additional Protectionfor Hypotheses That Prove False and for Similar Complex Criticism .................. 567 1. The Court Currently Grants No Separate Constitutional Protectionfor Opinion ....................... 567 2. Additional Protection Is Needed for Some Ideas that May Prove False In Discussion of Complex Questions . 568 3. The Value of the Hypothesis that Proves False ...... 571 4. Dangers of the Judicially Decreed Falsity of Hypotheses ............................. 576 19951 MONKEY TRIALS 5. A Rational Basis Test Proposed ................. 578 6. Application of the Rational Basis Test ............ 585 7. The Ideal Meets the Real World ................. 589 C. Should We Protect Science from Discussion of Unorthodox Ideas in the Lay Press? ......................... 590 V. CONCLUSION .................................... 593 I. A SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESIS MEETS DEFAMATION LAW A. A Rolling Stone Article: The Origin of AIDS... ? In March 1992, Rolling Stone magazine published an article entitled The Origin of AIDS: A Startling New Theory Attempts to Answer the Question 'Was It an Act of God or an Act of Man?" In the article, free-lance jour- nalist Tom Curtis (who is my brother) reported on a little-known "theory" that suggests a possible link between the AIDS epidemic and early polio vaccines. The theory reported by Tom Curtis had initially been developed by Blaine Elswood' and, unbeknown to Tom Curtis, had been developed independently by Louis Pascal.' Elswood was an AIDS activist with a lib- eral arts background who had published several scientific papers related to the disease. Pascal is also an independent researcher outside the scientific establishment. Neither, apparently, was a scientist by profession. Taken literally neither Elswood nor the Rolling Stone article claimed that the AIDS/polio vaccine link was proved. Instead they insisted that the theory raised serious questions, that attempted refutations were not convincing, and that the theory might well be true. Prior to the publication of the Rolling Stone article, a possible link between AIDS and polio vaccines had been Tom Curtis, The Origin of AIDS: A Startling New Theory Attempts to Answer the Question 'Was It an Act of God or an Act of Man?', ROLLING STONE, Mar. 19, 1992, at 54. Prior to the Rolling Stone article, scientists had raised, more or less directly, and sometimes discounted, the possibility of an AIDS-polio vaccine link. See, e.g., Sergio Giunta, The Primate Trade and the Origin of AIDS Viruses, 329 NATURE 22 (1991); G. Lectasas, Origin of AIDS, 351 NATURE 262 (1991); Herbert Ratner, Monkey Viruses, AIDS, and the Salk Vaccine, 20 CHILD & FAM. 134-38 (1988); J. Seale, Crossing the Species Barrier-Virusesand the Origins of AIDS in Perspective, 82 J. ROYAL SOC. OF MED. 519 (1989); Arie J. Zuckerman, AIDS in Primates,292 BRIT. MED. J. 158 (1986). For a related theory, see Charles Gilks, AIDS, Monkeys and Malaria, 354 NATURE 262 (1991). See Curtis, supra note 1, at 54, 56. See Louis PASCAL, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SCIENCE GOES BAD: THE CORRUP- TION OF SCIENCE AND THE ORIGIN OF AIDS: A STUDY IN SPONTANEOUS GENERATION 5-11 (University of Wollongong Science and Technology Analysis Research Programme Working Paper No. 9, 1991). 510 WILLIAM & MARY BILL OF RIGHTS JOURNAL [Vol. 4:2 briefly mentioned several times and sometimes discounted in the scientific literature.4 In a nutshell (which is where some critics implied the theory came from), the hypothesis suggested that a monkey virus had caused the AIDS epidemic by infecting people in central Africa. The hypothesis suggested that the transmission occurred as a result of the administration of a polio vaccine that had been inadvertently contaminated by a monkey virus. The hypothesis suggested that contamination could have occurred because of the use of monkey kidneys to manufacture polio vaccine.' In the African inocu- lation hypothesized as a link to AIDS, the vaccine had been given to more than 300,000 people from 1957 to 1960.6 The theory suggested that a possi- ble medical calamity had accompanied the great public health triumph against polio.7 Most commentators in the scientific community reacted to the hypothe- sis with disdain. They dismissed both the hypothesis and any suggestion that it be empirically tested. The hypothesis encountered more than a scientific snub, however. The researcher 8 who had conducted the polio vaccine trials sued Rolling Stone and Tom Curtis for defamation.9 Although the suit was settled, it continues to cast a pall over scientific discussion of the topic. The legal logic that encourages such actions threatens to undermine the tolerance and open debate that are essential both to science and to political freedom. 4 See supra note 1; infra note 31. The African polio vaccine was administered orally by means of "squirting the vaccine.., into the mouths of recipients." REPORT FROM THE AIDS/POLIOVIRUS ADVI- SORY COMMITTEE TO THE WISTAR INSTITUTE 3 (1992) [hereinafter COMMITTEE RE- PORT]. The polio vaccine also was administered
Recommended publications
  • Good, Bad and Ugly: the History of Polio Vaccines Transcript

    Good, Bad and Ugly: the History of Polio Vaccines Transcript

    Good, Bad and Ugly: The History of Polio Vaccines Transcript Date: Thursday, 12 June 2014 - 1:00PM Location: Barnard's Inn Hall 12 June 2014 Good, Bad and Ugly: The History of Polio Vaccines Professor Gareth Williams The main villain of the piece is the poliovirus, one of the smallest and simplest viruses. It is usually spread by the faecal-oral route (dirty fingers!) and in most cases is confined to the gut. As travels down the intestine, it induces antibodies (immunity) against itself, which will protect the person against future attacks by the virus. In about 1% of cases, the virus floods into the bloodstream and infects the nerve cells in the spinal cord which drive the muscles. This causes the characteristic paralysis, which can affect one or more limbs and/or the muscles of respiration – in which case artificial ventilation (e.g. with the iron lung) may be needed to keep the patient breathing and alive. Polio originally caused sporadic clusters of paralysis, especially in children. For some reason, this pattern changed during the late 19th century into explosive epidemics which swept through many countries each summer. The first major outbreak, on the East Coast of the USA in the summer of 1916, caused 25,000 cases of paralysis and 6,000 deaths. Draconian public health measures were powerless to prevent the spread of polio, resulting in widespread panic across America. Each year, panic resurfaced as the polio season approached, with the wealthy leaving towns and cities in droves. During the early 1950s, Americans feared polio almost as much as the atom bomb.
  • Jonas Salk at the National Press Club, April 12, 1965

    Jonas Salk at the National Press Club, April 12, 1965

    Jonas Salk at the National Press Club, April 12, 1965 Jonas Salk, May 1962. A.F.P. – D.P.A. Photos. National Press Club Archives On the tenth anniversary of the licensing of the polio vaccine he developed, Dr. Jonas E. Salk (1914-1995) visited Washington to accept a joint congressional resolution that hailed the vaccine as “one of the most significant medical achievements of our time.” At the White House, President Johnson offered Salk his congratulations. The day also marked the twentieth anniversary of the death of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who, having suffered from paralytic polio since 1921, had established the foundation that funded Salk’s efforts. Following his meetings with Congress and the President, Salk gave a talk and answered reporters’ questions at a National Press Club luncheon. In the title of its lead editorial ten years earlier celebrating the successful testing of the new vaccine, the New York Times proclaimed the “Dawn of a New Medical Day.” Testing of the vaccine, like the funding for its development, had engaged the participation of millions of ordinary American citizens. Through March of Dimes campaigns, hundreds of thousands of volunteers went door-to-door raising $41 million in 1952 alone from average donations of 27 cents. The tests involved 1.8 million school children, 200,000 volunteers, 64,000 teachers, and 60,000 physicians, nurses, and health officials, making it the largest clinical trial in history. Interpreting the jubilant 1 reaction to news that the vaccine had been proven safe and effective, the Times commented, “Gone are the old helplessness, the fear of an invisible enemy, the frustration of physicians.” Poliomyelitis, also known as infantile paralysis, is an extremely contagious viral infection caused by any of three types of poliovirus.
  • The March of Dimes and Polio: Lessons in Vaccine Advocacy for Health Educators

    The March of Dimes and Polio: Lessons in Vaccine Advocacy for Health Educators

    Feature Article The March of Dimes and Polio: Lessons in Vaccine Advocacy for Health Educators Dawn Larsen ABSTRACT The polio vaccine became available in 1955, due almost entirely to the efforts of the March of Dimes. In 1921, Franklin Roosevelt gave a public face to polio and mounted a campaign to prevent it, establishing the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. During the Depression, U.S. citizens were asked to contribute one dime. Entertainer Eddie Cantor suggested the name the March of Dimes, paraphrasing the popular newsreel “The March of Time.” Jonas Salk advocated a killed-virus vaccine while Albert Sabin proposed a live-virus vaccine. Both competed for both recognition and funding from the March of Dimes. In 1955 Salk’s vaccine was adopted, nationwide vaccination programs were implemented, and polio rates dropped by 80 percent. In 1961, Sabin’s vaccine, endorsed by the American Medical Association, became the vaccine of choice. The World Health Assembly advocated polio eradication by the year 2000. By 2004 eradication efforts were threatened by allegations linking vaccines to chronic diseases. Immunization dropped and polio resurfaced in the U.S., Australia, Africa and Russia. Research linking vaccines to chronic disease was dis- credited, but vaccine opponents remain active. Health educators are well positioned to mitigate damage caused by the anti-vaccine movement and address barriers to immunization efforts. Larsen D. The March of Dimes and polio: lessons in vaccine advocacy for health educators. Am J Health Educ. 2012;43(1):47-54. Submitted May 30, 2011. Accepted July 9, 2011. In 2008, The March of Dimes cel- prenatal health promotion programs, and of the virus that has been ranked second ebrated its 70th anniversary.
  • Polio in Italy

    Polio in Italy

    Polio in Italy Bernardino Fantini (*) (*) Institute for the History of Medicine and Health, University of Geneva. [email protected] Dynamis Fecha de recepción: 23 de enero de 2012 [0211-9536] 2012; 32 (2): 329-359 Fecha de aceptación: 5 de marzo de 2012 SUMMARY: 1.—Introduction. 2.—The epidemiology of polio in Italy. 3.—The social and scientific reactions to the polio epidemics. 4.—The 1958 epidemics. 5.—The different actors. 6.—The vaccination campaign and the elimination of the disease. 7.—Changing attitudes in patients and the public. 8.—The origins of patient’s associations. 9.—The post-epidemic problems. The post-polio syndrome. 10.—Concluding remarks. ABSTRACT: The history of polio in Italy is relatively short because the particular social and demographic history of the country has actually compressed the most dramatic history of the polio epidemic into only 40 years, from the first severe epidemic just before World War II to the early 1980s, when the epidemic vanished thanks to an effective and country-wide vaccination campaign. The epidemic, however, had a formidable impact on medicine, public health, social attitudes and culture. An analysis of this case study can illustrate the impact of an epidemic of a severe disease on individual and collective life, and at the same time the efficacy of public health measures against it, and the importance of the social structure, state and private, in coping with the consequences of the epidemics. In this period, the attitude towards the handicapped changed from stigma and isolation to social integration, thanks especially to the changes in health legislation, social action and the initiatives of the patient’ associations.
  • Infantile Paralysis

    Infantile Paralysis

    African Journal of Medical Sciences http://ajmsc.info Citation: Howard Zucker. Poliomyelitis: Infantile Paralysis. African Journal of Medical Sciences, 2021, 6 (3) ajmsc.info Review Article Poliomyelitis: Infantile Paralysis Howard Zucker Department of Health, New York, USA. Introduction: Polio is a viral disease which may affect the spinal cord causing muscle weakness and paralysis. The polio virus enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands contaminated with the stool of an infected person. Polio is more common in infants and young children and occurs under conditions of poor hygiene. Paralysis is more common and more severe when infection occurs in older individuals. The number of cases of polio decreased dramatically in the United States following the introduction of the polio vaccine in 1955 and the development of a national vaccination program. The last cases of naturally occurring polio in the United States were in 1979. Most of the world's population resides in areas considered free of wild poliovirus circulation. Travelers to countries where polio cases still occur should know they are immune or be fully immunized. In 2008, these areas include Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Symptoms and causative agent: Polio is caused by one of three types of poliovirus, which are members of the Enterovirus genus. In about 95% of all polio cases, the person has no symptoms at all. These are known as asymptomatic cases. The rest of polio cases can be divided into three types: abortive polio, non- paralytic polio, and paralytic polio. Abortive polio: In these cases, polio is a mild illness, with viral-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, sore throat, nausea, and diarrhea.
  • Poliomyelitis and the Neurologists: the View from England, 1896-1966

    Poliomyelitis and the Neurologists: the View from England, 1896-1966

    Poliomyelitis and the Neurologists: The View from England, 1896-1966 ANNE HARDY The American vs. the European Experience In 1907, following one of the earliest poliomyelitis outbreaks in New York City, the New York Neurological Society set up a poliomyelitis committee with a view to studying and illuminating the behavior of this newly epi- demic disease.' The neurologists7 interest in polio was of long standing, dating from the orthopedic surgeon Jacob von Heine's conclusion, in 1860, that the symptoms of infant paralysis pointed to "an affection of the central nervous system, namely the spinal cord."* Ten years later, Heine7s deduction had been confirmed by the researches ofJean-Martin Charcot (1825-93), who demonstrated the destruction of the grey matter of the anterior horns of the spinal cord (within which the motor impulses arise and are transmitted) in cases of infant paralysk3 This demonstration of the pathology of the disease placed it firmly within the concerns of neurol- ogy, where it remained until polio arrived as a major epidemic problem. In America, according to John R. Paul, the New York Neurological Society's committee marked "almost the last time that neurologists as a professional body were to assume a position of dominance with respect This article was written in memory of Elizabeth Mary Margaret Hardy (1922-52). I am grateful to Michael Neve, who gave me the occasion to write it; to Bill Bynum, for advice; to Irvine Loudon, for generously supplying the graph; and to Tony Gould, Andrew Wear, and the Bulletin's anonymous referees, for constructive criticism. 1.John R.
  • The Jonas Salk Polio Vaccine: a Medical Breakthrough Or a Propaganda Campaign for Big Pharma?

    The Jonas Salk Polio Vaccine: a Medical Breakthrough Or a Propaganda Campaign for Big Pharma?

    The Jonas Salk Polio Vaccine: A Medical Breakthrough or a Propaganda Campaign for Big Pharma? By Timothy Alexander Guzman Theme: History, Science and Medicine Global Research, February 27, 2015 Silent Crow 25 February 2015 When polio (poliomyelitis) became an epidemic in the U.S. and other parts of the world many people were understandably concerned. Diseases are absolutely frightening. During the 1950’s, polio made the public fearful. In April of 1952, Dr. Salk announced at the University of Michigan that he had developed a vaccine against the polio virus. That same day, the U.S. government approved a license for the immediate distribution of the polio vaccine. By 1954 the U.S. government allowed national testing for the newly developed vaccine which Dr. Salk himself developed by growing a live polio virus in kidney tissues in Asian Rhesus monkeys. He used formaldehyde to kill the virus. Dr. Salk injected the vaccine into humans with a small amount of the actual virus into the body so it’s natural defenses can build immunity or a defense mechanism against the virus. The first experimentations on humans resulted in 60%-70% who did not develop the virus although 200 people were reported to have caught the disease, 11 of them died as a result. The cause was a faulty batch, but regardless of the outcome, vaccine tests continued unabated. One year after the result, four million vaccinations were given in the U.S. By April 12th, 1955, the Salk vaccine was licensed for distribution after the results were officially published. The release of the polio vaccine prompted criticism.
  • Monkey Trials: Science, Defamation, and the Suppression of Dissent

    Monkey Trials: Science, Defamation, and the Suppression of Dissent

    William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal Volume 4 (1995-1996) Issue 2 Article 4 February 1995 Monkey Trials: Science, Defamation, and the Suppression of Dissent Michael Kent Curtis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmborj Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Repository Citation Michael Kent Curtis, Monkey Trials: Science, Defamation, and the Suppression of Dissent, 4 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 507 (1995), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmborj/vol4/iss2/4 Copyright c 1995 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmborj MONKEY TRIALS: SCIENCE, DEFAMATION, AND THE SUPPRESSION OF DISSENT Michael Kent Curtis* In 1992, Rolling Stone magazine published "The Origin of AIDS. ?" The article explored a controversial and unconfirmed theory that the AIDS epidemic had been an inadvertent result of a polio vaccine trial conducted in Africa in the late 1950s. The researcher who conducted the African trials discussed by Rolling Stone sued the magazine for libel. He alleged that the article should be interpreted as asserting that he had caused the epidemic, that the AIDS-polio vaccine theory was false, and that it defamed him. Monkey Trials explores the controversial theory of the origin of AIDS and considers whether discussion (or advocacy) of such a hypothesis should be protect- ed by guarantees of free speech and press. It concludes that such complex criticism should be entitled to heightened protection, at least in those cases where the criti- cism is alleged to defame people with extraordinarypower to shape the world in which we live.
  • Polio in Italy

    Polio in Italy

    Polio in Italy Bernardino Fantini (*) (*) Institute for the History of Medicine and Health, University of Geneva. [email protected] Dynamis Fecha de recepción: 23 de enero de 2012 [0211-9536] 2012; 32 (2): 329-359 Fecha de aceptación: 5 de marzo de 2012 SUMMARY: 1.—Introduction. 2.—The epidemiology of polio in Italy. 3.—The social and scientific reactions to the polio epidemics. 4.—The 1958 epidemics. 5.—The different actors. 6.—The vaccination campaign and the elimination of the disease. 7.—Changing attitudes in patients and the public. 8.—The origins of patient’s associations. 9.—The post-epidemic problems. The post-polio syndrome. 10.—Concluding remarks. ABSTRACT: The history of polio in Italy is relatively short because the particular social and demographic history of the country has actually compressed the most dramatic history of the polio epidemic into only 40 years, from the first severe epidemic just before World War II to the early 1980s, when the epidemic vanished thanks to an effective and country-wide vaccination campaign. The epidemic, however, had a formidable impact on medicine, public health, social attitudes and culture. An analysis of this case study can illustrate the impact of an epidemic of a severe disease on individual and collective life, and at the same time the efficacy of public health measures against it, and the importance of the social structure, state and private, in coping with the consequences of the epidemics. In this period, the attitude towards the handicapped changed from stigma and isolation to social integration, thanks especially to the changes in health legislation, social action and the initiatives of the patient’ associations.
  • Program of PHI's Tenth International Conference

    Program of PHI's Tenth International Conference

    Thursday, April 23, 2009 Session T1, 1:00–2:00 pm through Session T4, 6:15–8:30 pm This book belongs to 4207 Lindell Boulevard, #110 Saint Louis, Missouri 63108-2930 USA 314-534-0475 314-534-5070 fax www.post-polio.org [email protected] [email protected] www.ventusers.org [email protected] QUESTIONS from the audience will be submitted to the speaker/moderator in writing unless otherwise announced in the session. Post-Polio Health International (PHI) thanks the presenters for providing the excellent information contained in the daily program books. If you share this information, we respectfully ask that you acknowledge the presenter and that the information was disseminated at PHI’s 10th International Conference: Living with Polio in the 21st Century (April 2009). PHI will incorporate additional information presented at the conference and make it available to attendees and others at a later date. Details will be published in Post-Polio Health and on www.post-polio.org. In case of emergency, call 911. To go directly to the Warm Springs Medical Center Emergency Room, exit the main gate, turn right and the entrance will be on your right. The RWSIR Campus general number to report problems is 5555 and is posted on all Campus phones. 2 Living with Polio in the 21st Century RWSIR, Warm Springs, GA April 23-25, 2009 Post-Polio Health International including International Ventilator Users Network www.post-polio.org 3 4 Living with Polio in the 21st Century RWSIR, Warm Springs, GA April 23-25, 2009 Post-Polio Health International including International Ventilator Users Network www.post-polio.org 5 6 Living with Polio in the 21st Century RWSIR, Warm Springs, GA April 23-25, 2009 Post-Polio Health International including International Ventilator Users Network www.post-polio.org 7 8 Living with Polio in the 21st Century RWSIR, Warm Springs, GA April 23-25, 2009 EXHIBITORS Visit the following companies in Georgia Hall during these hours: Friday, April 24 from 11:30 am–7:00 pm Saturday, April 25 from 8:30 am–1:30 pm Juice Plus 124 N.
  • David Bodian 1910-1992

    David Bodian 1910-1992

    DAVID BODIAN 1910-1992 A Biographical Memoir by MARK E. MOLLIVER © 2012 National Academy of Sciences Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. DAVID BODIAN May 15, 1910–September 18, 1992 BY MARK E. MOLLIVER 1 DAVID BODIAN WILL BE REMEMBERED as one of the most innovative neurosci- entists of the 20th century. Committed to science, humanity, and education, he never sought recognition or power. His demeanor was marked by gentle modesty and dedication to colleagues and students. David’s kindness and modesty are inspiring in view of his numerous contributions to biomedical science, especially his role in one of the most significant biomedical advances of the past century. Over the course of his career he made discoveries that provided the groundwork for development of the polio vaccine that has nearly eradicated poliomyelitis, one of the most feared diseases in the world. Production of the vaccine was an urgent national priority that depended on the contributions and collaboration DAVID BODIAN DAVID of many researchers, and was marked by intense competition and drama. I will being inspired by a new high school science course that included laboratories for problem solving and inquiring summarize a few highlights of Bodian’s role in the polio adventure, and refer you into the workings of nature. to a fascinating account of the polio story in the book Polio: An American Story Based on his intelligence and excellent academic (Oshinsky, 2008). performance, Bodian finished high school in three years and entered Crane Junior College.
  • Vaccine Innovation, Translational Research and the Management of Knowledge Accumulation

    Vaccine Innovation, Translational Research and the Management of Knowledge Accumulation

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online Social Science & Medicine xxx (2012) 1e8 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Social Science & Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/socscimed Vaccine innovation, translational research and the management of knowledge accumulation Ohid Yaqub a,b, Paul Nightingale a,* a SPRU, The Freeman Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QE, United Kingdom b RAND Europe, Cambridge, CB4 1YG, United Kingdom article info abstract Article history: What does it take to translate research into socially beneficial technologies like vaccines? Current policy Available online xxx that focuses on expanding research or strengthening incentives overlooks how the supply and demand of innovation is mediated by problem-solving processes that generate knowledge which is often frag- Keywords: mented and only locally valid. This paper details some of the conditions that allow fragmented, local Vaccines knowledge to accumulate through a series of structured steps from the artificial simplicity of the labo- Innovation ratory to the complexity of real world application. Poliomyelitis is used as an illustrative case to highlight Poliomyelitis the importance of experimental animal models and the extent of co-ordination that can be required if Governance Research translation they are missing. Implications for the governance and management of current attempts to produce vaccines for HIV, TB and Malaria are discussed. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction movements (Blume, 2006), resistance to vaccine uptake (Blume, 2006; Mays et al., 2004; Nichter, 1995; Poltorak et al., 2005), the How is knowledge accumulated to generate socially beneficial efficacy of promotion strategies (Blume & Tump, 2010; Pérez-Cuevas technology? Vaccines, as a case in point, have arguably prevented et al.