THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

SENT FOR INFORMATION OF

Dr. Josh Lederberg

July 24, 1968

Dr. Arno Motulsky
Department of Medicine
School of Medicine
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington 98105

Dear Arno:

This is in response to Josh's letter of July 12 concerning
the statement of your Committee. It is a quite satisfactory
statement; congratulations and thanks. I have only one reservation.
In recommending that we formulate issues that should be then sub-
mitted to some appropriate body, such as the Board on Medicine or
the Committee on Life Sciences and Public Policy of the Wational
Acudemy, have we cleared with them their willingness to accept such
questions. The former committee is still trying to establish its
specific areas of reference, while the latter committee ia completing
a major assignment, with, as I understand it, no very clear tables of
organization for the future. In either event, neither of these
committees has anything approaching a standing subcommittee of
geneticists. In fact, to my knowledge there is no genetic represen-
tation whatsoever on the Board on Medicine. Accordingly, unless
there is specific assurance from these two committees that they are
prepared to establish the necessary michinezy to deal with whatever
questions we refer, it seems to me that we can be accused of buck-
passing.

The memo which I received from Josh did not include the statement

on screening for metabolic defects. 1 would be most interested to
see what we have come up with.

en pee
"Bu

James V, Neel, M.D,
Professor and Chairman

JVN: ap

cc: J. Lederberg

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Form 6130