Funding Health Education

The History of Skin Project at the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.)

To heighten awareness of the vital role of skin in human health as well as provide information on preventing skin diseases, the Milsteins provided seed money for the Skin History Project at the Smithsonian Institution, where Howard Milstein formerly served on the National Board. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is steward to the nation’s largest collection of medical artifacts. The Museum’s Division of Medicine and Science, which documents the diverse practices related to the history of health and medicine, is undertaking a project to preserve and explain the history of cutaneous biology and the development of dermatology. The Smithsonian viewed this project as a way to get the public enthused about the basic science and biology of skin, raise awareness about health, and teach history. The project’s overall goal is to educate the Museum’s nearly four million yearly visitors and nine million web travelers about the role of skin in American history.

“The idea is that dermatology is an important medical entity. We are going to treat the study of skin diseases with the same seriousness with which diseases of internal organs are treated.”

— Jules Cohen, Oncology Fellow, Weill Cornell Medical College

Visit Website: Smithsonian Institution