‘Dept. of Bacteriology,
3775 University Street.

 

McGILL UNIVERSITY
MONTREAL

February 20, 1962.

Dr. Joshua Lederberg,
Department of Genetics,
Stanford University,
Medical Center,

Palo Alto,

California.

Dear Dr. Lederberg,

Dr. Stephek Juhasz Das told me that he has written
to you concerning the possibility of spending some little
time visiting in your department under conditions which
apparently at the moment are a little uncertain. I am

writing you at his request to tell you a little about the
man.

Dy. Juhasz, while in Hungary, worked for a number
of years on the cytology and genetics of the Salmonella
group, as he has no doubt told you. At the time of the
Revolution, he elected to leave the country and arrived in
Canada early in 1956, along with a number of other Hungarian
bacteriologists. At that time, I was able to find a research
position for Dr. Juhasz in the Royal Edward Laurentian
Hospital, which then was primarily a tuberculosis hospital.
Because of that fact, it was rather necessary that his
research interests be reconsidered, and he decided to carry
on in the field of cytology and genetics as applied to the
genus Mycobacterium. During the past five years, he has
been concerned with the microscopic examination of tubercle
bacilli in a search for sexual modes of reproduction,
particularly conjugation, and in attempts to assess the
reproductive significance of the granules and globules which
he observed in his agar block preparations. In addition,
he has spent a great deal of time trying to bring about
transduction and transformation among the mycobacteria using
the standard techniques with which you are very familiar.

tS VYNL

fooe 2
The success of these various experimental pro-
cedures is in some cases rather debatable, but he has
accumulated a very interesting lot of experimental data in
the meantime, During the past two and a half years, he has
been registered as a graduate student at McGill, and just
two weeks ago fulfilled all the requirements for the granting
of the Ph.D. in Bacteriology from this university.

He is a well qualified and well trained invest-
igator who is quite capable of proceeding under his own
steam, At the moment, the interests of the people in this
department in bacterial genetics are mainly in the field
of teaching rather than in the field of research. Dr.
Juhasz feels, and I quite agree with him, that it would be
most stimulating for him in his own field, were he able
to spend a considerable time in the midst of a group of
investigators whose interests are similar to his own.

I do not know what sort of arrangement it might
be possible for you to make, but any period from three
months to a year or longer would be of immense value to
Dr. Juhasz, and I feel reasonably confident that he would
contribute a good deal to the discussions among your own
people. I should point out that Dr. Juhasz has, as his
Main interest in life, research. He has done some teaching
for us in the department, but his first love is research.

I am not sure what complications might arise in
the way of immigration status and so one, but Dr. Juhasz is
due to receive his Canadian citizenship within the next
few weeks. This might simplify matters a good deal. I hope
that it will be possible for you to offer Dr. Juhasz some
reasonable sort of post-doctoral fellowship, since I feel
that he would benefit a great deal by association with, and
working with your group.

With kindest regards,

   

oW. Reed, M.D.
Prof. & Chairman.