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

Page 33 text:

John Snyder, Sam Bell, Ed Murray, Charlotte Campbell, Bill Vinson. ARAMCO TRACHOMA RESEARCH PROGRAM Left to right —Mehdi Hassan, Sayed Saud, Saeed Ahmed. A1 Gharyafi, Ibrahim Ali, Beverly Grear, Dorothy McComb, John Snyder, Roger Nichols, Nadim Haddad. S. D. Bell, Edna Tietjen, Ali Abdul Rahman. 29

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MICROBIOLOGY John C. Snyder Head of the Department of Microbiology T he most important activity of the Microbiology Department in the immediate future is that of developing its part of the new Center for Prevention of Infectious Diseases, namely, the establishment of endowment and construction funds, the planning of new laboratories and classrooms, and the coordination of the teaching program with the new curriculum for the Master of Public Health degree. At present, the two departments most directly concerned with infectious diseases. Microbiology and Tropical Public Health, are located at a considerable distance from one another in different buildings and are handicapped by crowded and inadequate facilities. During the academic year 1963-64, we are launching a major effort to obtain funds for the construction of six floors in the new research buildings of the school. These floors will be designed to provide adequate facilities not only for research on the various infectious agents which continue to plague mankind but also for the explora¬ tion of the role of infectious agents in the causation of diseases hitherto regarded as non-infectious, for example, cancer, mental retardation and certain chronic degenera¬ tive disorders. The importance of the emphasis by the Harvard School of Public Health on the prevention of infectious diseases is underscored by the recent trend in medical educa¬ tion to reduce sharply the time devoted to the study of infectious diseases. Thus com¬ munities, states, and nations must depend increasingly on the graduates of schools of public health for intelligent leadership in the control and prevention of epidemics and in the search for the causes of diseases affecting large segments of society. The School has accepted the responsibility for intensifying its program of research on infectious diseases, and for providing in its future curriculum a comprehensive and balanced presentation, to include the essential knowledge as well as the principles upon wihch to base wise administrative practices in the prevention and control of infectious diseases of man. 28 John C. Snyder Head of the Department

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PHYSIOLOGY AND THE DIVISION OF EVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES A S one engaged more in administrative than other academic matters, I find it diffi¬ cult to identify a single activity of maximum concern. Two activities, however, are of recurring interest. One is the recruitment of qualified students into the several fields of environmental health—for example, those dealing with air and water quality, ionizing radiation, and occupational health. College students generally are unaware of these fields and we are now trying to develop methods for recruiting from New England colleges, using as one mechanism the offer of summer employment in active research projects at the School. This method could be extended to involve other departments. The second major recurring interest is the development of methods for studying possible biologic effects of long-term low level exposure to environmental stresses, including such factors as altitude or high barometric pressure, and air contaminants in industrial or residential environments. Methods range from biochemical and psysiologic responses of cells and laboratory animals to field studies of human populations. 30 James L. Whittenberger Head of the Department