Indiana Medical History Museum

10/20/2026

Join us online or in person tomorrow at 5:30pm!

Fall 2026 Installment of the Forensic Science Lecture Series at the Indiana Medical History Museum in partnership with the University of Indianapolis Human Identification Laboratory

"Stable Isotope Analysis of Unknown Human Remains: Bioarchaeological Science Methods Aid in the Identification of Military Personnel from Past Conflicts"
presented by Melanie M. Beasley, PhD, Purdue University

Registration required. Link in the comments.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is responsible for providing the fullest possible accounting for the remains of more than 80,000 missing US military personnel from past conflicts; approximately 30,000 of which are believed to be identifiable, recoverable, and returnable to their families. This mission fulfills one of the federal government’s most visible, bipartisan, and enduring humanitarian commitments. Since 2018, DPAA’s Isotope Program has relied on archaeological science methods developed since the 1970s as an additional form of evidence for identification of unknown human remains recovered from past military conflicts. This presentation will provide a history of how stable isotope analysis was adopted by DPAA from archaeological science to aid the identification of military personnel. Additionally, the talk will highlight new research supported by DPAA to once again capitalize on advanced archaeological science methods, such as near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, to increase efficiency for the DPAA.
The Forensic Science Lecture Series is a long-time partnership between the Indiana Medical History Museum and the University of Indianapolis Human Identification Lab.

Registration is required for virtual and in-person attendance. *Member tickets are only available for current active IMHM members. Member status will be confirmed. University of Indianapolis staff and students must use their school email address to register for free tickets.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER Dr. Melanie Beasley’s work focuses broadly on human-environment interactions throughout the hominin lineage when the environment is influencing our evolutionary history, in the Holocene when humans are influencing the availability of prey resources, and in modern forensic contexts when the environment imprints meaningful geolocation information in biological tissues. She uses stable isotope geochemistry to connect humans and the environment they live in to understand changing climate, resource availability, and life history. At Purdue University, Dr. Beasley is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and directs the Bioanth Isotope Ecology Research Laboratory (BIER Lab).

10/16/2026

🧟 It Came From Within... 🧟

Night One of Study Hall-oween brings us Sarah Halter, Director of the Indiana Medical History Museum Indiana Medical History Museum, with her lecture “It Came From Within: Healing in the Warm Glow of a Parasitic Infection.”

Sarah will dig into the creepy, crawly, history of medicine. Then our improvisers will use the info that’s infected their brains to inspire scenes made up on the spot.

Sarah Halter is a medical historian and Director of the Indiana Medical History Museum. She serves on several civic and academic boards, including the Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science, the John Shaw Billings Society for the History of Medicine, and the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies.

📅 Friday, October 16 @ 8:30pm
📍 IF Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis
🎟️ $13 in advance, $18 day of show

Grab your tickets at the link in our bio or go to IFtheatre.org. Attendance is mandatory💀

10/14/2026

📣New entry spotlight: Julietta Hospital, also known as the Marion County Asylum for the Incurable Insane at Julietta, was a medical facility that opened in 1900 in order to house and treat patients with mental illness. In fewer than forty years, problems with the hospital led to its closure, which occurred in 1938. All the residents were then moved to the Central State Hospital, leaving the property at Julietta for use as the Marion County Infirmary.

Learn More: https://indyencyclopedia.org/julietta-hospital/
Image: The Julietta Asylum, ca. 1900; Image Credit: W.H. Bass Photo Company Collection, Indiana Historical Society

10/12/2026

This Friday at 8:30pm at IF Theatre!

🧟 It Came From Within... 🧟

Night One of Study Hall-oween brings us Sarah Halter, Director of the Indiana Medical History Museum Indiana Medical History Museum, with her lecture “It Came From Within: Healing in the Warm Glow of a Parasitic Infection.”

Sarah will dig into the creepy, crawly, history of medicine. Then our improvisers will use the info that’s infected their brains to inspire scenes made up on the spot.

Sarah Halter is a medical historian and Director of the Indiana Medical History Museum. She serves on several civic and academic boards, including the Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science, the John Shaw Billings Society for the History of Medicine, and the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies.

📅 Friday, October 16 @ 8:30pm
📍 IF Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis
🎟️ $13 in advance, $18 day of show

Grab your tickets at the link in our bio or go to IFtheatre.org. Attendance is mandatory💀

10/08/2026

Fall 2026 Installment of the Forensic Science Lecture Series at the Indiana Medical History Museum in partnership with the University of Indianapolis Human Identification Laboratory

"Stable Isotope Analysis of Unknown Human Remains: Bioarchaeological Science Methods Aid in the Identification of Military Personnel from Past Conflicts"
presented by Melanie M. Beasley, PhD, Purdue University

Registration required. Link in the comments.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is responsible for providing the fullest possible accounting for the remains of more than 80,000 missing US military personnel from past conflicts; approximately 30,000 of which are believed to be identifiable, recoverable, and returnable to their families. This mission fulfills one of the federal government’s most visible, bipartisan, and enduring humanitarian commitments. Since 2018, DPAA’s Isotope Program has relied on archaeological science methods developed since the 1970s as an additional form of evidence for identification of unknown human remains recovered from past military conflicts. This presentation will provide a history of how stable isotope analysis was adopted by DPAA from archaeological science to aid the identification of military personnel. Additionally, the talk will highlight new research supported by DPAA to once again capitalize on advanced archaeological science methods, such as near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, to increase efficiency for the DPAA.
The Forensic Science Lecture Series is a long-time partnership between the Indiana Medical History Museum and the University of Indianapolis Human Identification Lab.

Registration is required for virtual and in-person attendance. *Member tickets are only available for current active IMHM members. Member status will be confirmed. University of Indianapolis staff and students must use their school email address to register for free tickets.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER Dr. Melanie Beasley’s work focuses broadly on human-environment interactions throughout the hominin lineage when the environment is influencing our evolutionary history, in the Holocene when humans are influencing the availability of prey resources, and in modern forensic contexts when the environment imprints meaningful geolocation information in biological tissues. She uses stable isotope geochemistry to connect humans and the environment they live in to understand changing climate, resource availability, and life history. At Purdue University, Dr. Beasley is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and directs the Bioanth Isotope Ecology Research Laboratory (BIER Lab).

10/02/2026

In 1959, Dee O'Hara became the first staff nurse for Project Mercury, NASA's first human spaceflight program. Throughout the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, she worked closely with NASA astronauts, pioneering the field of space nursing.

📷 O'Hara in 1961

10/01/2026

"Despite his declining health, Gillray remained remarkably productive, and unsurprisingly it was in this period that medicine increasingly emerged as a recurring subject in his work. In embracing this topic, Gillray was continuing a long tradition of British medical satire in which doctors, patients, and their remedies regularly appeared as figures of public derision."

By Ben Richardson ~ In December 1795, the British caricaturist James Gillray (1756–1815) was sick. For much of the year, he had been suffering from recurring bouts of rheumatism, which by the end o…

09/26/2026

Pharmacist in Indianapolis , 1970's

09/18/2026

This season’s LAST free guided tour of the IMHM Medicinal Plant Garden is tomorrow at 11am (Eastern). Join us at the arched garden entrance about ten minutes before the start of the tour. No need to register!