Harvard School of Public Health - Yearbook (Cambridge, MA)

Page 13 text:

Department of Epidemiology The department of epidemiology started in 1922 under Dr. Rosenau with a worldwide outlook which has been continued and extended under the present professor of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology—John E. Gordon. Students soon learn that not only is epidemiology the diagnostic discipline of Public Health but that its scope extends far beyond the boundaries of com¬ municable disease. The Department has done much to pioneer this broader concept so that we now take for granted the inclusion in our courses of studies of world population, alcoholism and accidents on the Mystic River Bridge. Special courses provide opportunity for students to continue work in their own fields, whether this is veterinary medicine, tuberculosis or international health. Current research,in keeping with a broad outlook,includes field and labora¬ tory studies of congenital anomalies, especially retrolental fibroplasia, mon¬ golism and malformation of the central nervous system. Work on enteric diseases in the military, cancer and diabetes continues. Abroad, the Department is concerned with field studies on population dynamics in the Punjab, and the frequency and spread of intestinal infection in Alaska. At the end of the first semester, having initiated the Class into the Royal Order of the Shillelagh, Professor Gordon left for his world tour. During part of the time he will hold a travelling professorship in Japan. His experiences will doubtless be recounted next year to portray the current interaction of the World, the Flesh and the Devil. Seated (left to right) PUGH, RUBENSTEIN, HABEGGER, WESSELHOEFT, INGALLS Standing (left to right) POPE, PHILBROOK, PEMBERTON

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Department of Public Health Practice Front Row (left to right) RICE, CAPLAN, VARLEY, LEAVELL, ROBERTS, SNEGIREFF Second Row (left to right) BREED, RYDER Third Row (left to right) AYRES, LOMBARD, APPLE, HAGER, REED, PAUL, FRECHETTE, NORTON, SIMMONS,. DUNNING, FOSTER, DICICCO, SPENCER, MCCONNELL Fourth Row (left to right) CATH, MACLEOD, MASON, HALLOCK, KLEIN, PARAD, LOMBARD, DAVIS, HARE Teamwork is the dominant theme of the Department of Public Health Prac¬ tice. Dr. Hugh R. Leavell, a man whose modesty belies his international repu¬ tation, has assembled a team of men and women distinguished for their teaching, research and community service. Each of these represents a particular field of public health and has students specializing in that field. These specialties consist of Medical Care, Public Health Nursing, Tubercu¬ losis Control, Mental Health, Health Education, Public Administration and Cancer Control. The Whittier Street Field Training Unit, the Wellesley Human Relations Service and other community research projects provide evidence of the integration of the team. From these diverse approaches, students are taught both their own subject and its place in the field of public health. After a period of basic training, the students abandon the ivory tower and rub shoulders with the masses of men as field work is substituted for didactic teaching. Public Health Practice majors are divided into small groups, each of which is assigned a field project for the second semester. The scope of these ranges from a performance budget for the City of Brookline to the activities of the Cambridge Community Services. With the faculty available as con¬ sultants, the students learn the difficulties of practical public health problems. The international aspects of public health are also stressed. With the help of foreign students public health problems of other countries are integrated into the teaching program. The Department hopes to widen its horizons by exchange of staff with Public Health Schools and Organizations throughout the world.

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Department of Industrial Hygiene The offices, shops, and laboratories of the Industrial Hygiene Depart- ment are located in the basement of 55 Shattuck Street, and the Air Cleaning Laboratory in Roxbury. Headed by Professor Philip Drinker, the staff has pro¬ duced much fundamental work in analysis and control of working environ¬ ments, and in prevention of industrial diseases and accidents. Professor Yaglou, Dr. Silverman, Dr. McFarland and others conducted classes in ventilation and air-conditioning, industrial air analysis, industrial hygiene engineering and medicine, and human adjustment in industry. In the lectures, field trips and seminars the Class considered a wide range of occupa¬ tional health problems, including dust diseases, air-borne contamination, noise, radiation, plant medical services, and personnel selection. In laboratory experi¬ ments they became familiar with many of the standard field and laboratory analytical methods and control procedures. The “gas chamber”, where some played the part of guinea pigs; the hum of the blowers while setting up standard concentrations; the annoyance of a flowmeter falling apart, or a midget impinger pulling over in the middle of an experiment, will long be remembered. Under AEC contract, the Department is engaged in basic air-cleaning inves¬ tigations, evaluation of dust removal equipment, and field consultations at atomic energy installations. Research work is currently in progress on the development of filtering materials for open hearth furnace fumes, on habita¬ bility in climatic extremes, and on control of heat casualties in military trainees. Standing (left to right) WILLIAMS, SMALL, SILVERMAN, McFARLAND, O’CONNOR Seated (left to right) YAGLOU, DRINKER