Apprentice to Genius

This book, subtitled The Making of A Scientific Dynasty, and authored by Robert Kanigel (270 pp.) was not a best seller, and although well written, it is not classical literature.  It does, however, tell a fascinating story, namely, an admittedly incomplete and biased history of the founding of the National Institutes of Health.  It is also a genealogy of some of the major scientists who were there from the beginning and their contributions.  It is not a coincidence from my standpoint that most of them were or are pharmacologists.  The book perhaps reveals more of their private lives and personalities than some would wish, but it may shed light on why one did and two others (equally or better qualified?) did not win the Nobel Prize.  In order to appreciate their discoveries it will be necessary to understand the scientific background.  The challenge to the study leader will be to make it understandable, but this is a science course.  We will begin, as did the NIH, with malaria, followed by discussions of drug metabolism, adrenergic nerve transmission and the opiate receptor.  There will, of course, be the requisite Berton Roueche story, and Guest Lecturer Frances McCann will close out the series with her take on the ins and outs of the Nobel Prizes for science.

Class is limited to 25 members.

ROGER SMITH is the Irene Heinz Given Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Emeritus of Dartmouth Medical School.  His previous ILEAD courses include "Poisonings and Other Things," "The Medical Detectives" and the minicourses "Drugs" and "Neutral Spirits."  In his dotage, he is also trying his hand as a free-lance writer.  His contributions have appeared in Dartmouth Medicine, DMS Alumni News and Notes, Here in Hanover and Woodstock Magazine.

FRANCES McCANN, guest lecturer, is Professor of Physiology, Emerita of Dartmouth Medical School.  Her previous ILEAD courses include "Espionage-Spies, Lies, and Double Lives," "The Manhattan Project," "The Alsos Mission," "Nobel Prizes (Science) Winners and Losers I and II," "Great Decisions," and "Adventures in Biomedical Science."