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Inaugural Isidore I. Benrubi Lecture Features David Oshinsky and His Book on the Polio Campaign in America
In April, the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences introduced the inaugural Isidore I. Benrubi Lecture in the History and Ethics of Public Health. The guest speaker, David M. Oshinsky, PhD, Jack S. Blanton Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, gave an insightful lecture based on his recent book, Polio: A Look Back at America’s Most Successful Public Health Crusade.
Guy Benrubi, MD, associate chair of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Florida Jacksonville, and son of the late Isidore I. Benrubi, welcomed the audience. Dr. Benrubi noted that his father believed history and science provide the necessary tools for people to make informed decisions on issues of health and human rights. With great pride and enthusiasm, he announced an additional gift in memory of his father that will support the continuation of the Benrubi lecture series.
Following Dr. Benrubi’s remarks, Amy Fairchild, PhD, assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences, introduced Dr. Oshinsky, recognizing his exceptional accomplishments as a researcher and teacher, and congratulating him for winning the Pulitzer Prize for History and the Hoover Presidential Book Award for his book about the Polio campaign.
Dr. Oshinsky began with the historical context, describing public perceptions of polio before addressing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s struggle with the disease and highlighting the energy and ingenuity that he brought to the fight against polio. Dr. Oshinsky explained that the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis—founded by FDR and Basil O’Connor in the 1930s—gave rise to the March of Dimes. To raise money, they invented a new campaign style whereby small donations were solicited from a large group. With the hundreds of millions raised, the Foundation and March of Dimes created a research and rehabilitation network that was the largest of its kind.
From there Dr. Oshinsky turned to the research of Isabel Morgan, Jonas Salk, and Albert Sabin, all supported by funds from the March of Dimes. Dr. Oshinsky, touching on the power and influence that funding organizations have, shed light on the personal elements in each researcher’s life that gave rise both a “live-virus” vaccine and a “killed-virus” vaccine.
Dr. Oshinsky covered the breadth of the polio campaign by highlighting the personal lives of scientists and the details of their research; by providing the social and political context; and by emphasizing the importance of fundraising tactics and organizations in the fight against diseases.
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