A significant research project on the history of eugenics is being supported by the Human Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) program of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

The overall goal of the ELSI Research Project is to take advantage of this centenary to explore the largely untold history of state and local eugenics in the United States by conducting research that both deepens our understanding and helps draw lessons for academic scholars in bioethics and the humanities, scientists, health administrators, policy specialists, and the public.

With this overall goal in mind, our specific aims are:

• To explore the largely untold history of sterilization and eugenics in Indiana in the twentieth century;
• To conduct original research on the history of eugenics by both junior and senior scholars from the fields of history, bioethics, and health policy, using a comparative and collaborative methodology;
• To produce an edited volume that seeks, for the first time, to compare and tell the detailed and varied history of eugenics in America at the local and state level, with particular attention to the relevance of this history to contemporary issues in human genomics, public health genetics, and reproductive health;
• To disseminate this research in public forums and at meetings held by organizations of health practitioners and policy makers;
• To help set the future agenda for research on the history of eugenics, the most widely cited yet least understood historical use of genetics in a non-healthcare setting.

The individuals participating in the ELSI Research Project epitomize the notion of interdisciplinary. They are trained in an array of disciplines and represent a variety of institutions. The project team includes:

Elof Carlson	Biology, SUNY Stony Brook (emeritus)
Gregory Dorr	Center for the Study of Diversity in Science, Technology & Medicine, MIT
Molly Ladd-Taylor	Department of History, York University
Jason Lantzer	Department of History, IUPUI
Mark Largent	James Madison College, Michigan State University
Angela Logan	Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University
Paul Lombardo	Center for Law, Health & Society Georgia State University
Ed McCabe	Departments of Pediatrics and Human Genetics, UCLA
Max Mehlman	Law-Medicine Center, Case Western Reserve University
Eric Meslin	Center for Bioethics, Indiana University
William Schneider	Department of History, IUPUI
Johanna Schoen	Department of History, University of Iowa
Alexandra Stern	Center for the History of Medicine, University of Michigan