N. I. H. record DR. TOPPING TO LEAVE NIH NOVEMBER 1

Dr. Norman H. Topping, Asso­ciate Director, w i l l l e a v e NIH around November 1, to become vice p r e s i d e n t of the University of Pennsylvania in charge of medical affairs.

Effective November 1, Dr. Top­ping will be the principal adminis­trative officer of the University's whole medical program--the School of M e d i c i n e , Graduate School of M e d i c i n e , S c h o o l of Dentistry, School of Veterinary M e d i c i n e , School of Nursing Education, School of Auxiliary Medical Services and the related hospitals and labora­tories.

President Harold E. Stassen of the University of Pennsylvania, in c o m m e n t i n g on the appointment, said, "We are most gratified by Dr. Topping's acceptance. He is one of the nation's ablest young medical administrators . With h i s b a c k ­g r o u n d of r e s e a r c h and public service, he is singularly equipped for the task ahead."

Dr. Topping came to NIH in 1937 soon after serving his interneship in P H S hospitals on the West Coast and receiving his commission.

His first research for NIH in­volved field studies in Bolivia of the effectiveness of typhus vaccine. He is noted, among other things, for the development of an immune serum which was the first effective t r e a t m e n t for R o c k y Mountain spotted fever and for epidemiologi­cal studies which proved the East­ern and Western forms of the d is ­ease were identical. He also con­ducted numerous studies of typhus, Q fever, and other viral and r ick­ettsial diseases.

During World War II, Dr. Top­ping was a consultant to the Army as a member of the United States of A m e r i c a Typhus Commission, a work that earned him the Typhus Commission Medal. From 1946 to 1948, he was a s s i s t a n t chief of

/i N I H ' s division of infectious d is ­eases .

In 1948 he was appointed Associ­ate Director of NIH and Assistant S u r g e o n G e n e r a l of the Public Health Service. Since then he has devoted most of his time to the ad­ministration of NIH 's broad pro­gram of Intramural research. He has been a key figure In planning the expansion program, particularly with respect to the laboratory a s ­pects of the Clinical Center.

In 1949 he was president of the American Society of Tropical Med­icine. He Is chairman of the ad­visory commission on the World Health Organization's I n f l u e n z a program and an advisor to the Na­tional F o u n d a t i o n f o r Infantile Paralys is .

Dr. W. H. Sebrell, Jr. , NIH Di­rector , said of Dr. Topping: "Those of us who are his colleagues regret Dr. Topping's departure from the Government. We all know, how­e v e r , that through his affiliation with one of the nation's great cen­ters of medical education and r e ­search, Dr. Topping will be In a position to continue his very real contributions to t h e advancement of American medicine."

September 22, 1952 - Vol. IV, No. 18

NIH CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM ENDS SEASON

The members of the NIH Softball Team are justifiably proud of being crowned champions of the District Athletic League for 1952.

I t certainly didn't cramp their style though, as league representa­tives In t h e city-wide s o f t b a l l championship. The first game on September 8 was called because of darkness with the team locked In a 3-3 tie with the Naval R e s e a r c h Laboratory. NIH won the game the next day by forfeit when their op­ponents failed to show. On Septem­ber 10 they rang up a w a l l o p i n g 11-3 score to down the Hawks. The game on September 12 which the Census Bureau won 9 to 4 wound up the se r ies and season play for the NIH team.

GERONTOLOGISTS ARE NIH GUESTS

On September 5, NIH played host to members of the Gerontological Society, Inc., who were attending their Fifth A n n u a l M e e t i n g In Washington, D. C.

After a welcome extended by Dr. S e b r e l l , t h e visitors were ad­dressed by Dr. Murray C. Brown, Chief of the Office of Clinical and Professional Education, w h o d is ­cussed the Clinical Center concept and layout. A brief question and answer period followed.

The g r o u p was t h e n given a choice of a tour through the Clini­cal Center conducted by Mr. Donald L. Snow, Chief of the Research Fa ­cilities Planning Branch, or a visit through some of the laboratories. Those electing the latter tour saw NHI's Laboratory of Technical De-v e l o p m e n t , and the Hematologic Pathology Unit of NCI.

Chemotherapy in Cancer No. 79 in a Series

Dr. Kelly ( l e f t ) , Dr. Leiter and Mrs. Katiler injecting tissue ex­

tracts to determine amounts of t umor ~ damag ing compound.

For two decades Dr. M. J. Shear and his associates have been in­vestigating the effect of chemical agents on animal tumors . When the Laboratory of Chemical Pharma­cology w a s organized, more ex­t e n s i v e investigation of the bio­chemical effects of such agents was vested in the Biochemistry Section, headed by Dr. Joseph Leiter. As­sociated with Dr. Leiter are Dr. M a r g a r e t G. K e l l y , Dr. V. S. Waravdekar, I r a Kline, Josephine K a b l e r , Anita Domingue, Cecille C h a g n o n , Mary Howes, and Ellis Sheets.

A t the s t a r t , there were few chemicals known to affect tumors. Screening was successful in pro­viding a large number of chemicals f o u n d to d a m a g e tumors. This made possible the study of the bio-c h e m i c a l mechanisms of t h e i r action.

To date. Dr. Let ter ' s Section has e x a m i n e d over 3000 chemicals, synthesized or acquired by the Or­g a n i c Chemistry Section. About 500 of them can damage tumors at near l e t h a l - d o s e levels. A few compounds, potent well below such levels, a r e being studied further with a v a r i e t y of tumors; their pharmacologic effects in s e v e r a l animal species are being studied in collaboration with t h e P h a r m a ­cology Section. Clinical s t u d i e s with one of t h e s e c o m p o u n d s , alpha-peltatln. Indicate that It I s

I too toxic to be useful c l i n i c a l l y . Development of other drugs for ex­tension to clinical investigation is being continued.

Correlations between c h e m i c a l s t ructure and tumor-damaging po­tency have been drawn for these agents. Several colchicine deriva­tives, for example, were found as effective as c o l c h i c i n e against tumors but far less toxic. Whether this decreased toxicity In animals will make these derivatives more u s e f u l In humans remains to be determined.

Also under way are the investi­gation of biochemical changes by which these agents produce damage In tumors and the effects t h e s e compounds have on host metabo­l i sm.

Dr. Margaret Kelly has Investi­g a t e d the fate of podophyllotoxln I n j e c t e d Into animals. She de­veloped a technique which makes use of the high l e t h a l i t y of this compound for chick embryos. As little as 1 microgram Injected Into an egg will kill the embryo. By this method, she demonstrated that the body detoxifies the drug as soon as 4 hours after Injection.

Dr. Vaman Waravdekar, a Visit­ing S c i e n t i s t from Bombay, has found that the level of respiratory e n z y m e s In tumor tissue drops sharply within s i x hours after a single I n j e c t i o n of potent com­pounds.

Mere and Zhere Dr. Dean Honored

Dr. H. Trendley Dean, Director of N I D R , was recently named Hon­orary Member of the S e c t i o n of Odontology by the British Royal So­ciety of Medicine. The presenta­tion ceremony was made In London by the Right Honorable Lord Webb-Johnson, president of the society. Dr . Dean was the only person from the United States so honored.

Dr. Dean was in London to attend the 11th International Dental Con­gress of the Federation Dentalre Internationale. W h i l e abroad, he spoke before the Irish Dental As ­sociation in Dublin, and also gave the Holme lecture at the University of London Hospital Medical College.

Blood Donors Don't forget that the Red Cross

Bloodmoblle will come to NIH on Wednesday, September 24. Donors a re asked to come to Wilson Hall for their scheduled appointments.

Your blood is urgently needed for the soldiers wounded in Korea as well as for c a s u a l t i e s here at home.

Hamsters The next production of the Ham­

s t e r s is scheduled for next April in the Clinical C e n t e r Auditorium. They hope to make It a bigger and better show In every way.

The call Is going out now not only for a c t o r s , but for all types of ski l ls , including electr icians, ca r ­p e n t e r s , m u s i c i a n s , s ingers , d a n c e r s , wr i t e r s , g a g wr i te r s , m a k e - u p a r t i s t s , costume r e ­s e a r c h e r s and designers , stage designers , and handy men.

If you want to make a good In­vestment of 50?, have loads of fun, a n d meet lots of people, contact Mrs . Hazel Rea, Treasure r of the Hamste rs , on Extension 605.

N. I. H. RECORD FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY

Public Health Service National Institutes of Health

Published by Scientific Reports Branch

National Institutes of Health Room 216, Building 1

Bethesda 14, Maryland OLiver 1400 Ext. 2171

V O S T ^NO FoUHo

If you have lost any of the fol­lowing i tems, come to Mr. May's office, Room 18, Building 1.

1 white enamel e a r r i n g with gold design

1 round gold brooch with va r i ­colored stones

1 pipe 1 tobacco pouch

All ar t icles not claimed by Oc­tober 12 will be returned to the finder. If you find s o m e t h i n g around the NIH grounds, turn it in to the guard office or to Mr. May's office.

^JJi Spotlight

DR. BENGSTON, FORMER

NIH SCIENTIST, DIES Dr. Ida A. Bengston, f irst woman

scientist on the Hygienic Labora­tory staff, died September 6 at the P H S Hospital in Baltimore.

D r . Bengston, nationally known for her research contributions in t h e field of rickettsial d iseases , ret ired in 1946 after 30 years with P H S . She had delayed her r e t i r e ­ment for several years because of s c i e n t i f i c manpower shortages during World War II.

For 10 years prior to her r e t i r e ­ment, Dr. Bengston conducted in­vestigations of rickettsial d iseases , i n c l u d i n g typhus fever, Q fever, scrub typhus, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. During the course of her studies on endemic typhus, she contracted the disease w h i l e ad­ministering inoculations.

Dr. Bengston's work in develop­ing the complement fixation test for typhus fever won her the Typhus Medal of the U n i t e d S t a t e s of America T y p h u s C o m m i s s i o n , awarded after her re t i rement . She was also well known for her earl ier work on trachoma and on antitoxins for tetanus and gangrene.

Dr. Bengston was a member of numerous scientific organizations, including the Washington Academy of Science and the Society for Ex­perimental Biology and Medicine.

Josephine G. Shannon

A sympathetic ear and a helping hand are prime requisites for the job Mrs . Josephine G. Shannon holds down so capably in the Health Unit of Building T-6. Years of exper i ­ence in public health nursing have made her quite adept in relieving t h e assorted ills of the 500-odd employees in the building.

They come to her for relief from a s o r e throat, cough, or o t h e r minor disturbance so they will not lose time from their jobs. Mrs. Shannon also sees many on-the-job injuries such as minor lacerations, spra ins , burns, contact dermati t is , etc.

Many employees take advantage of Mrs. Shannon's friendly, helpful interest in their health problems. She estimates that nearly half of the people come to her for advice on various health problems such as diet, prenatal ca re , etc.

If his problem is of a serious nature, the individual may be ad­vised to see his own doctor, and at his r e q u e s t the nurse often a r ­r a n g e s to have a blood count or urinalysis made for the employee.

Born and raised in Cumberland, Md., Mrs . S h a n n o n was one of eleven children. After graduating f r o m h i g h school, she took her nurse training at the Glens Falls Hospital, Glens Fa l l s , New York. Following brief experience with the Visiting Nurse Society, she joined the Nurse Corps of t h e P u b l i c H e a l t h S e r v i c e . She was chief nurse at one of the marine hospi­tals when she resigned from the service to be marr ied.

Mrs . Shannon was reinstated in P H S in 1939, after taking a r e ­fresher course in anaesthesia. She

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R&W NOTES

There will be fun and enter tain­ment to suit everyone at the Rec re -a t i o n a n d Welfare Association's f irst party this fall. I t ' s to be a Harvest Dance in Wilson Hall on Friday, September 26, beginning at 9:00 p.m.

Erv Liljegren, committee chai r ­man for this party, h o p e s t h a t you'll come wearing comfortable, casual clothes. Leave your coats and ties at home, boys! He has arranged for a juke box to supply the music for most of the dancing. But later on, the joint will jump to the boogie beat of "Lefty" Jenkins, P a y r o l l Section's red-hot piano player. A prize will be given to the best j i t t e r b u g couple on the floor.

You lovers of country hoedowns will feel right at home too, for the committee has arranged for some square dancing during the evening.

If you just like to sit on the side lines and watch the "youngsters" at play, you'll be e n t e r t a i n e d by a n o t h e r appearance of the famed "NIH Quartette." Gil Baylis, head of the choral group, promises some fine renditions of favorite songs, followed by a community sing. Re-f r e s h m e n t s will be served and s o m e l u c k y partygoer will take home a cash door prize.

Tickets will be 75? per person and are now on sale. Be sure to get yours from your building rep-r e s e n t a t i v e , or from one of the party promoters .

served at hospitals in New York and Baltimore. During World War II, she was assigned first t o the Coast Guard outpatient department and later to the sick bay at Spar ba r racks . In 1946, Mrs . Shannon came to NIH.

She has a son and a daughter, both of whom are in college. The S h a n n o n home is in Georgetown. Mrs . Shannon says she would love to have a beautiful flower garden if she could ever get one step ahead of the insects.

She claims reading d e t e c t i v e s tor ies is her one vice, but many d o c t o r s would claim it is good therapy after a busy day listening to other people's troubles.

BE SMART - DO IT THE SAFE WAY AT NIH

While forcing air bubb 1 es f rom cylinder of i n f e c t i o u s mate­r i a l , hold damp cotton over needle to prevent formation of hazardous aerosols.

Guard against flying glass. Apparatus under vacuum shou1d be as well shielded as the one above, with gas cylinder c1awped to bench.

Here's the right way to pipette an acid. Sever use your wouth.

Don't hesitate to ask for as­sistance in the event of f i r e or p o s s i b i l i t y of gas contam­i n a t i o n . The alarm summons local br i gade only.

This is the correct procedure for preparing a d i l u t i o n of r ad ioiodine when t he amount is 5 0 m i c r ocu r i e s or l e s s . The double containers are behind 1ead br icks.

NEVER touch equi pment others use i f hand 1i ng i n fee t i ous matt r i a l s .

GPO 8 3- 4 0 8 0 6