Main ContentAsylum Hill Research Consortium
Dr. Ralph Didlake now leads the Asylum Hill Research Consortium, a group of scholars from various disciplines, formed to study, oversee possible exhumations, and respectfully memorialize the lives of those buried on the grounds of what is now the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss.
Pictured above (front, from left), are consortium members and collaborators, including)Eric Hospodor, Dr. Sara Gleason, Dr. Ralph Didlake, Mary Ball Markow, Misti Thornton, Dr. Amy Wiese Forbes, Dr. Caroline Compretta, Dr. Véronique Bélisle; (back) Dr. Thomas Gregory, Dr. Tony Boudreaux, Dr. Patrick Hopkins, Dr. Janice Brockley, Dr. Shamsi Berry and Dr. Molly Zuckerman.
Our mission
To preserve, rigorously investigate, and promote the public history and scientific value of the Mississippi State Insane Asylum and to honor the experience and legacy of the individuals who were its patients over an important 80-year period in the history of medicine, mental illness, social institutions, in the State of Mississippi.
Our vision
The Asylum Hill Research Consortium is a model program for investigation, civic engagement, and education in the medical humanities and bioarchaeology. Using evidence-based research, and the best practices of archiving, memorialization, scientific method, and social history, the project serves as both a guide and resource for scholars across disciplines and among diverse organizations.
Guiding principles
The guiding principles of the consortium are:
- Responsible stewardship of physical, cultural, and scientific value of resources
- Adherence to prevailing disciplinary standards of practice
- Shared scholarship across disciplines and effective dissemination of data
- Alignment with UMMC missions
Consortium membership
University of Mississippi Medical Center
- Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities
Ralph Didlake, MD, Director
Caroline Compretta, PhD
Patrick Hopkins, PhD
Lida Gibson - Office of General Counsel
Eric Hospodor, Esq.
Susan Shands Jones, Esq. - Rowland Medical Library
Susan B. Clark
Misti Thornton - Health Informatics and Information Management
Shamsi Berry, PhD - Department of Psychiatry
Sara Gleason, MD - Office of Planning, Design and Construction
Patrick Casey, AIA
University of Mississippi
Mississippi State University
- George Bey, PhD
- Amy Wiese Forbes, PhD
Jackson State University
University of Southern Mississippi
Texas State University
University of Idaho
Community partners