Oo THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY

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Zz 1230 YORK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10021

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c* February 21, 1979

JOSHUA LEDERBERG

PRESIDENT

Dr. P. O. Williams, M.B., F.R.C.P.
Director and Secretary

The Wellcome Trust

1 Park Square West

London, NWl 4LJ

England

Dear Dr. Williams:

_ This is to follow-up on our lunch conversation
during your brief visit here last November, when you
indicated The Wellcome Trust's possible interest in
supporting a fellowship program in which British and
possibly other Western European nationals would receive
advanced postdoctoral training, with particular empha-
sis on fields related to parasitology, at The Rockefeller

- University. ,

As you know, The Rockefeller University has been a
pioneer in applying the basic sciences to problems of
biology and medicine, and has set standards of excellence
for postdoctoral training in the biomedical sciences. In
parasitology, several laboratories ate currently investing
their energies in research of such tropical diseases as
Malaria, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis, among others.

After giving the proposition of a Wellcome-sponsored
Fellowship Program further thought, and discussing it with
a number of my colleagues, we would like to propose start-
ing with two or three young scholars entering the: program
each year, with a view to obtaining postdoctoral training
in the areas of their choice, usually for a period of two
years. To have the desired impact, the program should
operate for at least five years.

We envision that The Wellcome Trust would advertise
the availability of the fellowships in Britain (and
Europe). Initial review of the applications would be by
a scientific advisory body, the composition of which can
Dr. P. O. Williams, M.B., F.R.C.P.
February 21, 1979

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be determined by mutual agreement. The final decision
as to admittance to the program would rest with the
laboratory head here under whose tutelage the fellow
wishes to be trained.

We believe the optimum timing for such advanced
training would be after a Ph.D. or M.D. has done one
or two years, but no more than four years, of post-
graduate work at another institution, in either basic
biology or parasitology, and whose career goals have
clearly been identified to lie in the area of endemic
tropical diseases.

The University would bring Wellcome Fellows to the
United States under the auspices of its Exchange Visi-
tors (J Visa) Program. Suitable housing, for the dura-
tion of the training period, would be made available to
the fellow (and family). Fellows (and their families)
could be enrolled in the University's health insurance
plans. The University would be responsible for the dis-
bursement of the fellowship stipend and other adminis-
trative details.

A sample budget, setting the 1979 stipend at $17,500,
which we believe is sufficiently high to attract the kind
of person we are seeking, is attached. The two items on
the budget which will be determined individually are a
dependence allowance for children, and a travel allowance
based on actual costs.

Also enclosed is a copy of the University's last
Annual Report. As you peruse it, I would like to draw
particular attention to the work being carried on in the
laboratories of: Biochemical Cytology, under the direc-
tion of Christian de Duve; Cellular Physiology and Im-
munology, under the direction of Zanvil A. Cohn and James
G. Hirsch; Medical Biochemistry, under the direction of
Anthony Cerami; and Parasitology, under the direction of
William Trager. Many other laboratories, such as those
in the fields of cell biology, genetics and immunology,
as well as some of the clinically oriented ones, would
welcome trainees with a primary interest in parasitology.
For example, we are recruiting a young assistant professor
who has already made important contributions to the molecu-~
lar genetics of a free-living nematode. And I want to stress
Dr. P. O. Williams, M.B., F.R.C.P.
February 21, 1979

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that we are searching energetically for a world~renowned
figure to succeed Professor Trager after his retirement.

We are also initiating a number of programs in col-
laboration with the neighboring institutions (Cornell
University Medical College and Sloan-Kettering).

We look forward to The Wellcome Trust's reactions
to this proposal, and my associates and I would be pleased
to give you additional details on any aspect of it.

Sincerely,

Joshua Lederberg

Encl.

Lee,

 

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