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September 21, 1978

Dr. George J. Brewer
Professor, Human Genetics
and Internal Medicine
The University of Michigan

Medical Center
1137 E. Catherine Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

Dear Dr. Brewer: '

I was very glad to have your letter of September
12th and its report of the ASHG Committee. I regret
that I will not be able to join you at Vancouver; but
I hope that if you have some occasion to visit New York
in the next few months, then we might have a more per-
sonal chat about the issues you raise.

The figures you collected and your summary of them
were cogent and instructive; and incidentally coincide
with my own intuitions. Each discipline that is facing
hard times has trouble accepting how widespread the
phenomenon is. Complicating the stagnation and decline
in overall support has been our own self-generated ex-
pansion of research capacity so that each of us is, in
a very real sense, the victim of our own and our stu-
dents' success.

Your concerns were very properly focused on the
parlous status of clinical research. Besides the dis-~
incentives which have been accumulating during the past
decade the social system seems to pile on enormous in-
centives to medical specialty careers, with which it is
very difficult to compete in the construction of academic
career lines.

Anyhow, I would welcome your advice on the con-
structive steps that could be taken on an institutional
as well as national basis in trying to meet that problem.
Dr. George J. Brewer
September 21, 1978

-2-

Finally, if you have not already done so, you
would I think find it useful to be in touch with Ms.
Sarah Brown at the Institute of Medicine with re-

spect to the Institute's survey of the clinical re-
search problem.

Yours Sincerely,

CO

oshua Lederberg