STUDENTS | Thea Applebaum Licht

Thea Applebaum Licht

thea_al@mit.edu

Current Research Areas: history of medicine; pharmaceutical industry; clinical trials; healthcare economics; STS

Thea is interested in the history and political economy of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. She examines how market dynamics, regulatory policy, and innovation narratives shape the course of clinical research and drug development.

Thea received her B.A. in History and Germanic Studies, with a minor in Biological Sciences, from the University of Chicago. Her undergraduate thesis explored Stephen Jay Gould’s critique of the Modern Synthesis, and the relationship between Punctuated Equilibrium and Germanophone evolutionary thought. Prior to joining HASTS, she worked as an analyst for a life sciences strategy consulting firm.