a The ‘0 THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY
of Rockefeller \m

- University /Z 1230 YORK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10021
Od <> November 1, 1978

JOSHUA LEDERBERG

PRESIDENT

Mr. Peter Libassi

Department of Health, Education
and Welfare

200 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D. C. 20203

Dear Mr. Libassi:

I understand that Marcia Cleveland and Louis
Slesin of the Natural Resources Defense Council made
certain comments, undercover of a letterhead dated
September 19th, critical of the proposed mitigation
of the NIH Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Research
(43 FR 33042, July 28, 1978).

These comments were submitted on the stationery
of the Natural Resources Defense Council where my
name also appears as a member of the Board of Trustees.

A number of my colleagues have expressed surprise -
and quite correctly and understandably so -- at my appar-
ent association with these criticisms. My own position
opposing unduly stringent regulation in this area was
expressed quite clearly several years ago, and I have
had no reason whatever to alter my earlier opinions on
the matter. The fact is that as a member of the Board,
I strongly applaud the general purposes of the NRDC but
I have not approved nor taken any part in this staff
paper: a relationship which is by no means unusual al-
though often misunderstood.

To avoid any possible misunderstanding I believe
it important that I put on the record my personal dis-
avowal to this particular comment.

Yours sincexely,

shua Lederber

cc: Mr. John Adams
Miss Marcia Cleveland

bcc: Dr. Donald Fredrickson
Dr. Allan Campbell
Dr. Norton ZInder