University of Maryland School of Medicine - Terrae Mariae Medicus (Baltimore, MD)

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BIOCHEJMISTRY Edward J. Herbst, PH.D. Associate Professor of Biochemistry The introduction of the principles of physiological chemistry and the illustration of their applications constitute the major teaching responsibilities in biochemistry. It is here that the medical student acquaints himself with such minutia as blood sugar, CO., PSP, thymol turbidity, I etc.; all names which mean little to him upon en- trance into medical school. The instruction involves the familiarization with some of the basic tools of medical research: the pH meter, the photometer the Klett, the scintil- lation counter, the Warburg respirometer, and the spectrophotometer. A large portion of the teaching is designed to develop the student ' s knowledge in biochemistry to the point where experiments performed with the aid of these devices will demonstrate their application in clinical medicine. Good equipment means little without the know- how to use it and this is provided by the members of the staff: Dr. Edward Herbst, Acting-Head; Dr. Guilford Rudolph; and Dr. Arthur Emery. Assisting them in the laboratory are Miss Brown and Mrs. Council. A large portion of any department ' s pro- gram consists of its research projects. There are several graduate students at work in these PUT another nickel in WYATT ERBST— Hive Kktt, will travel. ' m %r

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the regular lecture and laboratory instruction which the student ordinarily receives. A few new department appointments should be noted. Dr. Sheldon E. Greisman is now serving as Assistant Professor of Physi- ology as well as Medicine. Dr. Jerome K. Merlis was appointed Associate Professor of Physiology in addition to his position as Pro- fessor of Neurology. Dr. Alvin L. Herman of Johns Hopkins is serving as Visiting Assistant Professor of Physiology and has taught Neurophysiology during the past year. Regarding a few studies now in progress, Dr. Ferguson, Dr. Deitrich C. Smith, Mrs. Barry, and Miss Silver are studying the ef- fects of high altitude on blood electrolytes, particularly mechanisms by which potassium changes are brought about. Dr. John I. White, Miss Himmelfarb and Mrs. Mc- IT WORKED fine last year. 0 f 0 - i Jerome K. Merlis, M.S., M.D. Professor of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Connell are continuing their research on the basic mechanism of muscle contraction. Dr. S. Greisman works on the physiological ef- fects of bacterial endotoxin in the mammal. Physiology, we have all learned, is the backbone of medicine and we are happy to see that the Department is attempting to build a strong foundation by constantly re- vising their teaching programs. 27

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WHAT DO YOU MEAN, you don ' t believe in the Krebs cycle? areas during the school year and each sum- mer, medical students on summer fellow- ships add to the manpower. Each staff mem- ber works in his own area of interest and directs the work of his students along these lines, thus allowing a varied program to be carried on concurrently in three different laboratories. Dr. Herbst has been interested in the biochemical activity of the naturally occurring diamines and polyamines for quite some time and is studying their effect on sub- cellular constituents in both microbial and mammalian systems. Dr. Emery ' s interests lie in the description of some chemical as- pects of nucleic acid-protein complexes, and the manner by which these macro-molecules mediate genetic information and protein synthesis. The work of Dr. Rudolph is centered on the elucidation of the metabolic effects of androgens on the inositol com- pounds contained within the cells of the accessory sex glands of the rat. MISS ANN BROWN instructs students through arduous experiments.