The research of Joseph Gabriel, historian and George Urdang Chair in the History of Pharmacy, focuses on the contested relationship between scientific and technological innovation, social and cultural change, and state regulation of the market. That unique combination is appealing for academic colleagues and the public as Gabriel has been sought as invited speaker.

In September Gabriel was one of two invited speaker on Wisconsin Public Radio to lend expertise on the history and pricing of prescription medications. The broadcast is available on the WPR website.

In October Gabriel was included in the The Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science & Technology Studies brown bag series. In his presentation titled, “Medical Science, Private Profit, and the Challenge of Big Pharma” Gabriel presented preliminary thoughts on a brewing legitimation crisis facing medical science. Drawing from his recent work on the history of intellectual property rights and the origins of the modern pharmaceutical industry, he suggests that a possible origin point for the current distrust of our healthcare system can be found during the 1880s, when a series of reformers re-conceptualized the relationship between medical science and monopoly rights in drug manufacturing.

The Holtz Center for Science & Technology Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison promotes innovative work and fosters interdisciplinary research, education and public outreach in humanistic and social studies of science, technology, biomedicine, engineering and the environment.

In mid-November Gabriel will be featured in the Department of the History of Science brown bag series on a topic yet to be announced.

Gabriel joined the school in July 2015.