WK

‘MEMORANDUM

 

To: Files

From: E.C. whitehead } L
July 21, 1980

On Tuesday, July 15, 1980, I met with Dr. Martin

Raff at University College, London. Dr. Raff's

office and laboratories are located in the Zoology
Department of the 2nd floor of a rather ancient
building. His lab is enormously crowded and gives

a general appearance of fairly high activity and

little space. As mentioned above, the building is
rather antiquated and the interior has not been
modernized to the standards that one is more accustomed
to in the United States.

He shares an office with Dr. M (?) who is his collaborator
in his research program. Dr. Raff, as Gus Nossal
indicated, is a very articulate and perhaps even
charismatic person. I liked him enormously. He is

42 years old; was trained as a Neurologist, went to
medical school in Canada and did his residency at
Massachusetts General. He, like most residents in
first class medical schools, was supposed to do a year
of lab work. He elected to do this at University
College Lonon in Immunology and, as he says, never
went back to Clinical Neurology.

He has very cleverly used immunological techniques in
neurology and, in fact, describes himself as a neuro-
immunologist. He has succeeded in growing antibodies
that are specific for some six different types of brain
tissue. As he describes it, the work and opportunities
are literally "exploding". He has about 8 post-doctorial
fellows in his lab, most of whom come from the States
and one has the impression that his work is about the
hottest thing going in neuro-biology.

I believe we got along quite well as he is an extremely
relaxed and easy man to talk to. Contrary to Dr. Kan,
he expressed views on most of the questions I raised.
Of course, all views were modified by protestation

that he really had little experience and would be
unqualified in these matters. In my book from this
first meeting, I would say that Dr. Raff is a wonderful
candidate on the following counts:
Page Two

His work must be well respected and of
and important nature.

He has the background and workings in
basic science.

Personality wise, it is easy to imagine
him having great success both as a
recruiter and a leader of a new institute.

He is broad in his interests witness the
fact that he, together with Jim Watson and
aman by the name of Bruce Alberts, are
writing a new text on cell biology which
they expect will become the definitve text
on the subject.

There is also one small problem. He does not want the
job. There is no question he was intrigued by the
possibility and is perceptive enough to immediately
see the possibilities. However, he has two problems:

1.

 

His work is coming to a head and it is very
exciting to him. He really feels he can't

leave it quite yet although I believe he

expects to in the future. He told me categorically
that he did not believe it would be possible

to continue doing really meaningful work at

the bench and be the Director of this Institute.

I certainly sympathize with this position.

The second problem is more personal. He has three
children ranging in age from 10 years to 16

years and a divorced wife. They share the children,
literally. The children spend alternate days

with their mother and father who live close

to one another. He feels this situation is
excellent and does not want to break it up

at this point in time. He feels that in two

or three years, perhaps he can.

He gave me a list of names of people he felt might be
suitable for the job of Director. They are as follows:
PAGE THREE

1. Matthew Messelson who is a name that has
not come up before but he felt might be
very attractive. As man, he certainly is
broad guaged enough to be considered for
this position. I do not know the quality
of his work but was assured by Raff that
it was first class. I know him only casually
in that we served together on a Science and
Technology Panel at the United Nations
Association. I can attest to the fact that
he is articulate and persuasive and broad
thinking. By a copy of this memo, I would
appreciate it if Dr. Lederberg and Dr. Nossal
would respond to this proposal.

2. Bruce Alberts who is a co-author of the book
Dr. Raff is writing. Dr. Raff considers Alberts
perhaps the best man in the world as a mole ular
biologist. At present he is at the University
of California in San Francisco in the Biochemistry
Department working as a biophysisist.

3. Mike Bishop at UCSF and Frank Ruddle (?) who
is at Yale.

Dr. Raff had a very interesting suggestion; that is that we
pick two or three truly outstanding scientists, not directors,
who would in turn recruit a Director. This is an idea but

my own feeling is that I would not want to do this unless

it proved impossible to recruit a satisfactory Director.

The people he suggested for this initial group would be:

1. Jeremy Broches who was a studen of Raff's in
neuro~immunology and is currently at Cal Tech.

2. Alberts mentioned above.

Additional names were Malcolm Moore who is at Sloan-Kettering
whose work is bone marrow and Harvey Eisen who is a para-
cytologist, I don't know at what institution.

It was very interesting and exciting to meet Dr. Raff and I
enjoyed him tremendously. It is truly unfortunate that he
is essentially unrecruitable.

ECW/mlt

DISTRIBUTION

A. Brill / J.A. Orlando J. Whitehead
Dr. Lederberg Dr. Skeggs P. Whitehead
Dr. Nossal Dr. Sokol S. Whitehead