Devon Stillwell, PhD (2013-15)
Devon was at Hopkins on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship. She completed her PhD in history, and a diploma in Gender Studies and Feminist Research, at McMaster University in 2013. Her dissertation, “Interpreting the Genetic Revolution: A History of Genetic Counseling in the United States, 1930-2000” analyzed the evolution of prenatal genetic counseling in relation to histories of eugenics, genetics, bioethics, medical professionalization processes, and reproductive and disability rights. She is currently researching the history of Huntington’s disease, cancer, and genetic counseling for adult-onset conditions. She is also preparing a book manuscript on genetic counseling and the role of medical genetics in shaping 20th century American biopolitics and understandings of biological risk. Devon’s work has appeared in the Bulletin of the History of Medicine and Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, and she has a forthcoming article in Social History of Medicine. She taught a course on Women, Health, and Medicine in Modern America at JHU in Spring 2015.