Medical School Receives $1M Genetics Grant

The Medical School recently receives a $1 million endowment from the Surdna Foundation to establish the John Emory Andrus Professorship of Genetics, the first chair in the newly created Genetics Department.

The Committee on Genetics, which will soon be replaced by the new department, will hire six faculty members. Dr. Banuj Benacerraf, Fabyan Professor of Pathology and chairman of the committee, said last week.

"We are looking throughout the U.S. and abroad for the best and most brilliant faculty members." Benacerraf said, adding that the positions will probably be filled within a year.

Logical Persuasion

The Med School faculty voted to establish the Genetics Department in October 1978. This decision helped persuade the Surdna Foundation to make the gift. Allen C. Olsson, dean for resources, said last week. "They were attracted by the same logic which prompted the faculty to recognize the significance of genetics," Olsson added.

The Center for Human Genetics has been coordinating the activities of geneticists working in pediatrics, microbiology and other departments since the '60s