A history of the American Society for Clinical Investigation
Joel D. Howell
Joel D. Howell
Published April 1, 2009
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2009;119(4):682-697. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI39091.
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Category: Historical Perspective

A history of the American Society for Clinical Investigation

Abstract

One hundred years ago, in 1909, the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) held its first annual meeting. The founding members based this new society on a revolutionary approach to research that emphasized newer physiological methods. In 1924 the ASCI started a new journal, the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The ASCI has also held an annual meeting almost every year. The society has long debated who could be a member, with discussions about whether members must be physicians, what sorts of research they could do, and the role of women within the society. The ASCI has also grappled with what else the society should do, especially whether it ought to take a stand on policy issues. ASCI history has reflected changing social, political, and economic contexts, including several wars, concerns about the ethics of biomedical research, massive increases in federal research funding, and an increasingly large and specialized medical environment.

Authors

Joel D. Howell

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Figure 2

The New Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, site of the first ASCI meeting in 1909.

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The New Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, site of the first ASCI meeting ...
Several decades previously, US President Ulysses S. Grant used to relax in the lobby of the Willard. People wishing to influence him would come and talk with him there — according to one version of the history, this led to the term “lobbyist.” (Courtesy of Willard Intercontinental Washington.)