NIH Stetten Museum

Behind the Mask

NIH History Office Explores Life During a Pandemic

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

The NIH has played a critical role in supporting research and therapeutic development aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The people doing that important work have had their lives changed by the pandemic in many ways. For that reason, the Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum has launched an initiative to encourage NIH employees and volunteers to share their professional and personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. These contributions will be the primary source material future historians will use to understand how NIH fared and adapted at this critical time.

A Long Tradition of Vaccine Breakthroughs

IRP Vaccine Research Stretches Back to the NIH’s Birth

Monday, May 18, 2020

Over the past few months, the world has gained a new appreciation for the long, difficult process of producing vaccines as it waits anxiously for one that will provide protection from the novel coronavirus. With the NIH Vaccine Research Center’s efforts to develop a COVID19 vaccine drawing a huge amount of media attention, it is easy to forget that the IRP has been making vital contributions to vaccine development for more than 100 years. These efforts have helped produce vaccinations for smallpox, rubella, hepatitis A, whooping cough, human papillomavirus (HPV), and several other diseases. Read on for a visual journey through the history of IRP vaccine research. 

Judge This Book By Its Cover

Friday, April 10, 2015

The cover is stained, the binding is broken, and the edges are burnt from use at a laboratory bench. Practical Pathology by Sir German Sims Woodhead, 3rd ed., 1892, belonged in the library of the original Hygienic Laboratory, which became the NIH in 1930. Although it has seen hard use in its 123 years, this book is now in the NIH Stetten Museum collection and begins a month showcasing some of our recent accessions.