December 7, 1955

Dr. Ernest W. Goodpasture
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Washington 25, D.C.

Dear Dr. Goodpasture:

Thank you for your interesting letter of the 5th. I am personally very
much gratified at the opinions you expresad relative to the integration
of the medical schools with their universities. Similar comments by Dr.
Lippard at Yale and our own Dean Bowers encourage the belief that there ia
a swelling tide in this direction. As you my know, I started my own research
career as a medical student but left the mdical school for a Ph. D. program
when I discovered that the 4.D. program at my alma mater left too little
time and interest for research training. I hope that this disillusiongent
will be averted for future generations of s txents.

It is then perhaps no coincidence that the possible role of genetics in
the medical school should be of interest to several institutions. Perhaps
you would be interested in an outline I have prepared as a basis for dis-
cussion with them. I feel that a genetics unit in residence at the medical
school itself would be bound to have a grmter impact than if it 4s located
at another affiliated college, but the first reqirement is that the subject
be soundly represented at the university altogether. I also feel that human
genetics per se is too narrow a channel for the manifold potas of imnact of
genetics with mdicine, some of which are listed in the enclosure. The main
qualification for leadership would be a sound appreciation of all the fields
of genetifs, coupled with the capacity to communicate with his clinical col-
leagues and students, and particular research abilities in any one of many
scientific fields related to medicine. Unhappily, very few medically trained
wokkess in this country exist to fill the bill, and are not likely to appear
until this kind of progran is installed in our medical schools.

Without knowing your response to these views and their bearing on the
equally important development of Biology independently of Medicine, I would
not venture to propose other candidates; in any event the number of possible
appointees with outstanding qualifications is severely limited. These pro-
posals and the evaluation of Dr. Neel, as requested, are attehhdd.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics
James V. Neel, Ph.D., 4.0.

Dr. Neel has probably done more work to popularize human genetics as a scilenti-
ficadiscipline, both among geneticists and clinicians, than any other one person
in this country. He is a person with tremendous drive and enthusiasm and demonstrated
administrative talent. There ia no person with competent genetic training who could
more effectively tackle te dual tusk of managing the affalts of a biology department
and setting up a vigorous program of human genetics. In this context, there is
laterally no one more promising for the indisated position. By the same token, he
is quite unlikely to accept the position unless 1t promised him the opportunity to
develop a prograg in human genetics commensurate with his own ambition. The main
criticism that I would offer is probably irrelevant to the neads of the position
and is that Neel is more of an administrator than 2 selentist; the very intesaity
of his interest in human genetics might be a drawback in the affairs of a department
with wider aims. This commant may be a reflection of my own bias, but I would fear
that such fields, say, as microbial genetics would not receive much emphasis under
his aiministration. However, Dr, Neel knows himself quite well and would not under-
take the position himsclf 1f he did not feal he ware qualified for it, and I would
give the strongest weight to his own judgment. Taking all circumstances into account,
I believe that Vanderbilt would be very fortunate to succeed in winning Neel away
from Michigan and, in the area of human genetics, there 13 no one who would ramotely
approach him in suitability for the position.

One of the obstacles is the necessity of combining the qualifications in -zenetics
and for chairmanship of Blology in one person. There are some outstanding younger
people that could be recomaended to you in medical genetics.

outstanding
Some other/possibilities (who are not human geneticists)

Lloyd ¥. Law at Bethesda
Bentley Glass at Johns Hopkins

A. GC, A}lison (definitely a human geneticist; the discoverer of the correlation
between malaria ani sicklanta) ~~ at Oxford, England