Todd Olszewski, Ph.D.
Todd Olszewski is a Stetten Fellow for the Office of NIH History for 2008-2009.
A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis , he received his Ph.D. in history with a concentration in the history of science and medicine from Yale University in 2008. His dissertation, “Cholesterol: A scientific, Medical, and Social History, 1908-1962”, traced the rise of cholesterol as a cardiovascular risk factor, examining scientific, technological, and social perceptions of cholesterol and its relation to heart disease. As a DeWitt Stetten Memorial Fellow, Todd will be studying the history of the National Heart Institute (now the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) and the ways in which the institute fostered the multidisciplinary investigations of cholesterol, aetherosclerosis, and risk. In particular, Dr. Olszewski will expand upon his dissertation topic to explore further how pliable notions of cardiovascular risk have informed medical practice, health policy, and popular conceptions of health and illness.
