Book Talk - A Scientific Revolution: Ten Men and Women Who Reinvented American Medicine with Author Will Linder (A&S '72)

Sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Hopkins Chicago

Join alumnus and author, Will Linder (A&S '72), as he discusses the book he co-authored with Dr. Ralph Hruban (Medicine '85), "A Scientific Revolution: Ten Men and Women Who Reinvented American Medicine," The book tells the story of the transformation of medicine from a rough-and-ready trade, crowded with physicians who often lacked a high school education, into a science based on research and evidence. The journey is told through the lives of pivotal figures who committed body and soul to advancing research, patient care and medical education.

We begin with Mary Elizabeth Garrett, who was denied a college education by the president of Johns Hopkins but later used hardball philanthropy to raise the medical school’s entry requirements and to guarantee that women would be admitted on equal terms with men. We end with Vivien Thomas, the grandson of a slave, who struggled against bigotry and segregation at Hopkins. He nonetheless performed countless experiments that charted the path to congenital heart defect surgery. In between, we recount the lives of eight others who battled sexism, racism, and their own personal demons to shape scientific medicine.

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote that “Dr. Hruban and Mr. Linder’s portraits capture an inflection point in American medicine: the ambition and excitement of it, the sense of moment experience by those who were leading the revolution.” A Scientific Revolution is about medicine but is informed by an awareness of the human dimensions of scientific progress.

After the book talk, mix and mingle while you enjoy light appetizers and drinks! 

Disclaimer: The perspectives and opinions expressed by the speaker(s) during this program are those of the speaker(s) and not, necessarily, those of Johns Hopkins University and the scheduling of any speaker at an alumni event or program does not constitute the University’s endorsement of the speaker’s perspectives and opinions.

While participating in off-campus events and meetings sponsored by the JHAA/JHM/JHHS participants must follow all public health guidelines mandated by the local jurisdiction and venue at the time of the event, including vaccination and masking and distancing guidance. Johns Hopkins strongly suggests that attendees who join in person be fully vaccinated. This is subject to change.