HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
FRRERalarci i beets
: U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH
NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE BETHESDA. 14, MD.
N GFB

 

October 9, 1953
Re: C-2157 M&I

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics

The University of Wisconsin
Madison 6, Wisconsin

Dear Dr. Lederberg:

It is good to have your letter of September 23. I, too, have recalled
with pleasure our association through the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund.
In fact I have had a sense of pride for the Fund as I have heard the fine things
said about your work in the years since you went to the University of Wisconsin.

Regarding your question as to the need for pointing out in future
requests the pertinence and significance of your studies to the problem of
cancer, I would say that there is no obligation to do so. However, since there
will be few present members of the Cancer Council serving when the time cames
to review your long-form application for additional years of support beyond
those already committed, it might help the new Council members to understand
your concept of the relation of your work to the cancer problem if you were to
provide a brief discussion of it in the appropriate place in the application.

There is no secret about the reason for transfer of your project and
others from the general grant program to one or another of the categorical
grant programs. At the time applications were originally assigned to heart,
cancer, general and other grant programs for consideration there was no infor-
mation available as to the final appropriation that would be available for
each of these programs. Subsequent to the Council meetings, however, the
Congress increased some of the appropriations considerably and reduced others
slightly. The net result of this was the possibility that some of the appli-
cations assigned to the less favored programs might be deprived of support be-
cause of the arbitrary assignment. Therefore, all of the applications in the
less affluent programs were reexamined for possibility of support from other
programs. The National Advisory Cancer Council found that your project and
some others not previously assigned to them for review could be considered to
have sufficient significance for the problem of cancer to permit support with
eancer funds.

With warm personal regards,
Sincerely None ?

R. RG. VNeade r, Ph. D.

Chief, Research Grants & Fellowships Branch
RGM:rl
ec: Dr. E. P. Offutt