Three New York Pioneer Medical Mycologists, Provided a Firsthand Ac- Count of the Founding of Medical Mycology in New York

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SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY

Symposium* 0w1 FUNGI AND FUNGUS DISEASES Final Session, Commemorating the Careers of Three Pioneer New York Medical Mycologists

JOSEPH GARDNER HOPKINS BERNARD OGILVIE DODGE RHODA WILLIAMS BENHAM Speakers: WVILLIANI J. ROBBINS LUCILLP K. GEORG ARTURO L. CARRION BEATRICE A\l. KESTEN CARL T. NELSON GILBERT I)ALLDORF

52-- --2 HE subject of the 196I Symposium of the Section of Microbiology of the Academy was Fungi and Fungus S Diseases. Sessions were devoted to the fungus as sapro- phyte and pathogen, the metabolism and genetics of etsas'ss~ fungi, newer pathogenic fungi and the control and treat- ment of fungus infections. The final meeting, which commemorated three New York pioneer medical mycologists, provided a firsthand ac- count of the founding of medical mycology in New York. It is noteworthy that the symposium was supported by a grant from Research Corporation representing income from patents assigned to the corporation by Elizabeth Hazen and Rachel Brown, the discoverers of the first effective fungus antibiotic, nystatin. These circumstances were described as a further pioneer contribution by New York mycologists, a sign of what scientists can do, directly and of themselves, in the con- struction of a better world. GILBERT DALLDORF Donald S. Walker Laboratory, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research Rye, N. Y. Held at The New York Academy of Medicine, March 9 dod 10, 1961. Scientific piapers psresenIted at this Symposium (No. 11) published in book form by (. C Thiomas, Springfield, Illinois.

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. JOSEPH GARDNER HOPKINS

BERNARD OGILVIE DODGE

RHODA W. BENHAM 110II 0 SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY

NoTEs ON THE EvoLUTION OF BOTANICAL RESEARCH IN NEW YORK CITY a ,52SE55-25I pinpoint a beginning for a subject as broad and diverse as plant science is always difficult, if not impossible, but one of the earliest contributions to botanical research in the New York area was by Cadwallader Colden and his le2a daughter, Jane, who published a flora of their estate in Orange County in the Acts of the Royal Society of Upsala in 1744. Another parent and child combination in this early period was Andre Michaux and his son, Franqois Andre, who arrived in New York in the autumn of I785, collected plants in the fields and woods of Harlem on the island of Manhattan, established a botanical garden across the Hudson River in New Jersey, explored the southern and mid-western United States, and eventually published extensively on North American trees. Others, whose contributions in the latter part of the i8th and early years of the i9th Century were less important than those of the Michaux, could be mentioned, but the most significant development in this period was the establishment of instruction in botany at Columbia College. Richard Kissam, M.D., surgeon in The New York Hospital, served as Professor of Botany on the Faculty of Medicine from 1792 to 1793, Samuel Latham Mitchill, M.D., from 1793 to I795 (he was also Professor of Natural History, Chemistry, Agriculture and the Other Arts Depending Thereon), and David Hosack, M.D., from 1795 to i8ii. Although Samuel Mitchill was Professor of Botany for two years only, he was a leader in establishing, in 18I7, the Lyceum of Natural History, now the New York Academy of Sciences, which is the fourth oldest scientific society still in existence in the United States. Mitchill also served from i820-26 as Professor of Botany and Materia Medica in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was without doubt an influential figure in the early development of botanical science in New York City. Equally influential, if not more so, was David Hosack, a leading physician of his time, a land speculator, teacher, horticulturist, public

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER MYCOLOGISTS IIII I I figure and bon zvvant. Though never a research botanist, he established with his private means in i 8o i the Elgin Botanical Garden, which was later (i 8 i ) bought by the State of New York, presented to Columbia College, and now makes up part of the land on which Rockefeller Center stands and furnishes, through rental, a substantial income to Columbia University. Hosack projected an illustrated flora of North America-something still not accomplished-and received and advised botanists from abroad, like Frangois Andre Michaux and David Doug- las. Among his pupils and proteges were such botanists as John Torrey, Amos Eaton, Caspar Wistar Eddy, Rafineau Alire Delile, John Eatton Le Conte and Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. No discussion of the development of botanical research in New York City could omit John Torrey, Hosack's pupil and protege, who from the time he graduated as an M.D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in i8i8 made botany his major interest, though most of the time he earned his living as a chemist. Torrey was the fourth Pro- fessor of Botany at Columbia, aided Asa Gray in beginning his career as a botanist, and was closely associated with Eaton, Nuttal and others of that period. Although Torrey accumulated a substantial herbarium and projected an ambitious flora of the northern and middle states of which the first volume was published, one can hardly assert that botany flourished in New York City in Torrey's time. Writing in i83I to de Schweinitz in Pennsylvania, Torrey said, "There is scarcely anyone who takes interest in my [botanical] labours and were it not for my friends at a distance, I should feel but little pleasure in my work." By the last quarter of the i9th Century, botanical research was at low ebb in New York City. No one had been appointed to succeed Torrey at Columbia; botanical instruction, such as it was, was given in the Geology Department under the supervision of John S. New- berry, Professor of Geology and Paleontology, and Torrey's herbarium lay neglected and uncared for in dusty bundles. It was Nathaniel Lord Britton who was largely responsible for placing botanical science in a major position in New York City. Britton was born in 1859. Although educated as a geologist he developed an interest in botany at an early age and, as an instructor in the Geology Department at Columbia, became absorbed by Torrey's herbarium and the accumulation of collections from this country and abroad which lay neglected, uncared for and unstudied. "Silently, one may say almost

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 1962 SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY 112I I 2 SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY surreptitiously" (according to H. H. Rusby), Britton organized a De- partment of Botany at Columbia; he played a major role in establishing the New York Botanical Garden which was incorporated in I89i, and became its first Director in I896, a position he held for 33 years. With the organization of the Department of Botany at Columbia and the establishment of The New York Botanical Garden, research, which had been almost entirely limited to taxonomy, was extended to other phases of botany-pathology, physiology, genetics, cytology and morphology. I shall not attempt to detail the further history of botanical research at Columbia and The New York Botanical Garden. It is far too extensive and important to be treated superficially. However, contributions in taxonomy and ecology, including floras of most of the United States and the Caribbean, extensive collections and studies in tropical America, and research in genetics and plant breeding, in the diseases of orna- mental plants, in morphology and morphogenesis, in physiology, plant chemistry, mycology and cytology, have made The New York Botan- ical Garden and the Department of Botany at Columbia internationally known. The development of botany at Columbia and the organization of The New York Botanical Garden, as well as the general character of the times, stimulated the organization of other botanical institutions. A botanical department was founded at Barnard College. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden was incorporated in 191o with C. Stuart Gager as its first Director; Gager had served on the staff of the New York Garden and had taken his doctor's degree there. The research program of the Brooklyn Garden included taxonomy, pathology and physiology. Reference must be made also to the College of Pharmacy of Colum- bia University and H. H. Rusby, its Dean, who played an important role in early botanical explorations in South America, in establishing the New York Botanical Garden and in encouraging botanical research in a variety of ways. The Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research was incorporated in 1924 and officially opened that same year. Its first director, William Crocker, was appointed in 192i, and its second and present director, Dr. George McNew, in I949. Although its act of incorporation author- izes the Institute to engage in almost any aspect of biology, both plant

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER MYCOLOGISTSMYGOLOGISTS I I 3 and animal, its attention has been devoted mainly to plant physiology, plant pathology and biochemistry. In its relatively brief existence the Boyce Thompson Institute has made outstanding contributions to virus diseases of plants, to information on the life span and causes of dormancy of seeds, to the biochemistry of cell membranes, effect of gasses on plants, to plant hormones, the dormancy of corms, tubers, shrubs and trees, to the study of insecticides and fungicides, and to numerous other problems. A Department of Dermatology was organized in 1926 in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University by Joseph Gardner Hopkins. There the fungi were studied botanically, as well as causes of disease in animals, with rewarding and fruitful results. For a complete picture of botanical research in the New York area, I should discuss contributions in that field from the Rockefeller Insti- tute, the Haskins Laboratories, the American Museum of Natural His- tory, Fordham University, Hunter College, and a number of other institutions. Time does not permit. Something must be said, however, of organizations which have contributed indirectly to research though they have no staff nor buildings for that purpose. I have already referred to the Lyceum of Natural History, founded in i8I7, which became the New York Academy of Sciences. Through its sections and their meetings, its conferences, affiliated organizations and publications, the New York Academy of Sciences has become, in- sofar as any single organization can, the scientific center for New York City and has contributed to the development of botanical science. The New York Academy of Medicine founded in 1847 is an organization which has facilitated botanical research, especially in microbiology, through lectures, meetings, symposia and publications. The Torrey Botanical Club, founded informally about i86o and incorporated in i872, is another organization which fosters research through its meetings and its publications which include Torreya, The Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club now (1960) in its 87th volume, and The Mem- oirs, published in I 889 and comprising 2 I volumes published at irregular intervals. It would be most appropriate if I could discuss in particular the development of research in Mycology, because that subject is most closely allied to dermatology. Unfortunately, there is no history of this division of botany for the New York area. H. H. Rusby in i906 said that M. M. Ruger, an amateur botanist who was stricken while botaniz-

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 1962 I I SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY Il 4SCINONMCOILG4 ing and died in i879 at the age of 44, was especially notable for his interest in mycology, then almost unworked. Other amateurs in New York City were very likely concerned with the fungi as the I9th Century wore on from the i 86o's, but no really serious attention was given these plants until the botany departments at Columbia were developed and the New York Garden established. At Columbia, Her- bert M. Richards carried on studies of the mineral nutrition of the fungi and Robert A. Harper, B. 0. Dodge, John Karling, Lindsay Olive, Joseph G. Hopkins, Rhoda Benham and their students pursued fundamental mycological investigations of various kinds. Even a casual review of the development of botanical research in New York such as this of necessity is, emphasizes how closely the development of botanical research in New York City has been associated with medical science and impresses one with how greatly the facilities for research have expanded and how much has been accomplished in the lifetime of individuals still living; how many able young people are now engaged in it, how much we are indebted to a few men and women who were botanists not by vocation but by avocation, and how exciting the results of future botanical research in New York promises to be. WILLIAM J. ROBBINS New York Botanical Garden Bronx, N. Y.

JOSEPH GARDNER HOPKINS TE525-5HE study of fungus diseases lagged behind for many years, notwithstanding the fact that the first pathologic condi- if'T tions ever shown to be caused by microbes in man- thrush, favus and ringworm-were all mycotic in nature. ,zsa~sz~e~gt The pioneer workers in medical microbiology centered their attention primarily on the pathogenic bacteria because these, as a rule, are more aggressive than the fungi and they take a heavier toll on human life. In the course of time, however, many of the major problems created by the bacteria found satisfactory solution and the interest of microbiologists gradually began to move toward the fungus infections.

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER MYCOLOGISTS I 15

It was at this moment that Joseph Gardner Hopkins entered the field. In the year 1926, shortly after his appointment to direct the Dermatology Department of the Medical School at Columbia, this illustrious investigator took up the task of organizing a research laboratory for medical mycology, the first in the country, to work in close association with the clinical activities of the department. The development of that laboratory will be discussed by another speaker later this evening. I would like to dedicate a few moments to picture briefly the man who opened the big doorway into the realm of medical mycology in this country. Dr. Hopkins was born in Brooklyn, in i882, a descendant of Stephen Hopkins who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His higher education and training took place at Columbia College and the Johns Hopkins Medical School. Early in life he received the inspir- ing influence of such men as Harvey Cushing, Hans Zinsser and John A. Fordyce. His devotion to hard and conscientious work led him to many important positions and finally to his appointment as professor at Columbia. I will not endeavor to recall his numerous contributions to medical science, but I am eager to express what my eyes could see in the heart of that great man. The life of Dr. Hopkins was moved by love . . . love of science, love of country and love of people. Through his love of science he became a unique scholar. Unique because we seldom see a mind covering so many fields of learning-mycology, bacteriology, pathology, immunology, allergy, clinical dermatology, syphilis and several others; and in addition to all this, he possessed a rare ability to apply the technics of pure science to clinical investigation. His judg- ment was sound, his spirit inquiring, his imagination productive, and his activities as a teacher were full of youthful and catching enthusiasm. Such was the scholar. His love of country carried Dr. Hopkins far from home on various occasions. During the first World War he won a decoration from the Government of Serbia for valuable services rendered with the Typhus Commission of the American Red Cross in that country; and when the United States entered the conflict, he joined the Army Medical Corps as Commander of a Base Laboratory in England. During the Second World War and immediately thereafter Dr. Hopkins gave

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 1962 I I 6 SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY brilliant services to the nation at Fort Benning, Georgia; the Southwest Pacific and Germany. His heroic participation in the Pacific Campaign is particularly worth remembering. This was magnificently portrayed by James Baxter 3rd in his book entitled "Scientists against Time". On page 414 the author mentions the role of "Scientific Consultants" in action and tells how most of them were successful in their jobs. Then he goes on to say: "The successful were of many types. One, a sixty-two-year-old dermatologist, spent eight months in the Southwest Pacific studying tropical diseases of the skin. Tall and spare, slightly stooped but with unexpected stamina, he moved from one field hospital to another over jungle roads along the northern coast of New Guinea. In one front line hospital he slept through an artillery bombardment. After landing in the Philippines he hitch- hiked a ride in a dive bomber and took part in an air strike against the Japanese still remaining in Manila. He received six commendations for his scientific work in the field." That is the story of Joseph Gardner Hopkins-the soldier. Finally, nothing that has been said about the scholar and the soldier can match his personality as a human being-the man-his love for people. This phase of his life was rich in rare and remarkable qualities. Perhaps the most outstanding of these qualities were his deep humility and his abiding concern for others. I still remember one afternoon when a young man who was in trouble entered the laboratory to discuss matters with the Professor. Many absurd arguments were offered in support of a very weak position. Yet, the busy Professor listened pa- tiently for a full half hour, at the end of which he patted the young man on the back and told him "Come and see me again tomorrow". When the interview was over a question burst out of my mouth: "Is there no limit to your patience. Dr. Hopkins?" I recall that he looked at me for a while in a pensive mood and finally said "When men like this come to you, no matter how dull they may appear, don't fail to hear them-you'll be surprised to find how much they can teach you". I was deeply impressed by those words and have followed the advice ever since. He was right. Dr. Hopkins was a thoughtful, understanding and generous man, with a heart much too big for his chest. His personal integrity, his gentle and unassuming charm of manner, and his exquisite courtesy to others won him many, many friends. And a gracious friend he was himself. One of his great delights was to bring happiness to others, and God bestowed upon him a keen sense of humor that made his

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER AMYCOLOGISTS I I I company unusually attractive and enjoyable. As a rule his social gather- ings were exuberant in the best of music and were always sprinkled with witty jokes from his own succulent collection. Indeed, he had a rare ability to spread around his tender love for people. And now, before closing, I should like to express my gratitude and humble satisfaction for the opportunity to present to you the picture of Professor Hopkins as he appears, still wvarm, in my memory; the man whose life was moved by three great loves; the man whose devotion to the study of human disease won for him an outstanding name in medical science; a man who, like W\ashington, was first in war and first in peace; a man whose gentle heart was like a ripe fruit, which bends low, that all miay pluck it. ARTURO L. CARRION San Patricio Veteral7s Hospital San Juan, Puerto Rico

BERNARD OGILVIE DODGE

RSER2-?5ERNARD DODGE, whose memory we honor this evening, iwas born on April i8, 1872 in Mauston, Wisconsin. He died on August 9, i960 in New York City at the age of 88. aes~sese52sesW I first met Dr. Dodge in I946 when he was still a young 72. This was shortly before he was to become Plant Pathologist Emeritus and Consultant in Mycology at the New York Botanical Garden. He was introduced to me by Dr. Hopkins and Dr. Benham one steamy June afternoon in the mycology laboratory of the Colum- bia-Presbyterian Medical Center as their good friend and colleague. This, naturally enough, also made Bernard Dodge a friend of mine from then on. By this time, Dr. Dodge had already achieved world-wide recognition as a mycologist, geneticist, and plant pathologist, and his long series of studies on Neurospora were largely behind him. I need not emphasize to this audience the importance, the value, and the quality of his perceptive researches. XWhile Bernard Dodge will continue to be known to the scientific world for his fundamental studies on Neuro-

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 1962 I I 8 SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY 8SCINONMCOILG l spora and his researches on the taxonomy, evolution and pathological relations of the fungi, his everyday friends and acquaintances will also remember him as a lover of good music, a raconteur, an inveterate whistler, and a baseball fan. Dr. Dodge played no musical instrument but he loved good music. He was a member in good standing of the B and B (Brahms and Beethoven) Full Volume Hi-Fi Society which held its record playing soirees at Dr. Hopkins' apartment. The music was always excellent, and always played fortissimo, for this seemed to add to the Gemuit- lichkeit of the occasion, even if it was not generally appreciated by the neighbors on Haven Avenue. For these get-togethers Bernard often brought a new recording to be added to Hoppy's collection. It didn't make much difference what the record was; Dr. Hopkins always received the gift gracefully and played it back for the group that evening, fortissimo, of course. Nor did it matter that Hoppy already had one or two albums of that particular selection-for he needed the extra ones, the way he, with his characteristic unconcern, scratched, warped, and defaced his recordings. It was on occasions such as these that one came to know the real Bernard Dodge. Rather shy and certainly modest, he had a luminous mind. He was also friendly, cheerful, unselfish, and contagiously en- thusiastic. Nobody ever heard him make a mean remark about anyone, for there just didn't seem to be a trace of envy or bitterness in this man. These were the times when Bernard Dodge, the raconteur, also would relax sufficiently to recall experiences from his eventful and challenging early years on his father's farm in Wisconsin. These experiences were told, not as the nostalgic reminiscences of an old man, but from the point of view that hard work during one's early years is not only good for the soul but also excellent training for the vicissitudes of later life. I recall very well Dr. Dodge's tale about his first regular paying job. This was during the bitter winter of his tenth year when he walked more than a mile each morning, often in sub-zero weather, to the district schoolhouse to sweep it out and build the fire. The pay for this was five cents per school day. Bernard Dodge, the baseball fan, is probably someone only a few of his friends ever knew. I began to visit Yankee Stadium sporadically with him shortly after the end of World War II. It was a time when

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER MYCOLOGISTS I I 9 many raw recruits, has-beens, and hold-overs from the war years were still masquerading in major league uniforms. At first, Dr. Dodge knew very little about the fine points of the game but it was not long before he became as knowledgeable as the majority of the other rooters along the third base line. He quickly learned to distinguish the true major leaguers from the marginal performers. Although, as usual, he was always charitable in his judgements, he reserved his real enthusiasm for his favorites, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Gehringer and Early Wynn. The last baseball game Dr. Dodge and I attended together was played several years ago. It was in the late innings and the score was tied with base runners on first and second and nobody out. I can still remember him sitting there, waving a cup of ice cream in one hand in his typically dysrhythmic fashion, as he debated quite seriously with me whether the batter should bunt or hit away. This was some of the stuff of which Bernard Dodge was made. A discerning researcher in plant pathology, cytology and genetics, he was at heart also very much a teacher. Those who came under his influence and received the benefits of his patient guidance and personal interest must always consider themselves fortunate. As for Dr. Dodge the scientist, I would only paraphrase Henri Poincare and say that Bernard Dodge did not study nature because it is useful; he studied it because he delighted in it, and he delighted in it because he found it beautiful. CARLT. NELsN College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York

RHODA WILLIAMS BENHAM

R52GHODA BENHAM was one of the foremost scientists and teachers in the field of medical mycology. Her many N R z ~publications on the morphology and physiology of the pathogenic fungi form an important part of the litera- ture on this subject, and have served to stimulate research in many fields of mycology and medicine. This outstanding woman was born in Cedarhurst, Long Island, in i894. She attended Barnard College where she majored in botany.

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After receiving her BA degree, she remained affiliated with the Botany Department as a graduate student and teaching assistant. During this time she received stimulating guidance from four prominent botanists of the Columbia faculty: Herbert M. Richards, R. A. Harper, B. 0. Dodge, and Tracy Hazen. Undoubtedly the influence of these great teachers helped her to decide on her lifework. Dr. Benham received her M.A. in botany in i919 and began work on the Ph.D. degree under Professor Richards. At about this time, J. Gardner Hopkins became Professor of Der- matology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Recognizing the importance of the study of fungus disease in dermatology, he established a laboratory for the study of pathogenic fungi, and on the advice of Bernard Dodge, invited Miss Benham to join his staff. Thus began the long and productive association with Dr. Hopkins which decisively shaped her career. In 1943 she was named Associate Professor of Dermatology-a position she held until her health failed in I956. Dr. Benham's early research was concerned with the yeast-like fungi and her thesis, "Certain Monilias Parasitic on Man-Their Identi- fication by Morphology and Agglutination", is considered to be a classic in this field. The yeast-like fungi associated with disease in man and animals were at this time very poorly understood and presented a confusing problem. Her careful morphological studies of these organisms correlated with their biochemical behavior and immunologi- cal relationships-which were clearly defined for the first time-created order in this difficult group of fungi, and have proved invaluable to all in the field of medical mycology. A similar study of organisms of the genus Cryptococcus followed which clarified this group of organisms and established the characteristics of Cryptococcus neoformans, the etiological agent of cryptococcosis. These studies, which established Dr. Benham as an authority on the yeast-like fungi pathogenic to man, have led to the development of practical methods now used in diagnostic laboratories throughout the world. Her methods opened the door to further studies of biochemical behavior, nutritional requirements, and immunologic reactions that have added a wealth of information concerning the pathogenic fungi which was not envisioned in the early studies which were based almost entirely on morphology.

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER MYCOLOGISTS I 2 I

In her studies on Pityrosporum ovale, Dr. Benham was the first to demonstrate that this organism required oleic acid for growth. This explained in part its habitat in the sebaceous secretions of the skin, and allowed the development of a satisfactory medium for the isolation and study of the fungus. In recent years she published a number of papers on dermatophytes, particularly in regard to the effect of nutrition on their morphology. Besides her research, Dr. Benham was an outstanding teacher and established a training center which provided postgraduate courses in medical mycology and offered opportunities for students to carry out research projects in her laboratory which quickly became a meeting place for investigators from all over the world. As Dr. Juan Mackinnon has said in his introduction to the new publication, Sabouraudia, "Fol- lowing the Third International Congress in Microbiology held in New York in 1939, an informal gathering held in Dr. Benham's laboratory at Columbia University to discuss the nomenclature of the so-called monilias was probably the first international meeting of specialists in medical mycology." Those of us who had the opportunity to study under Dr. Benham knew well the warmth, kindness, and encouragement she extended to her students and coworkers. Her careful work, her enthusiasm for every new finding and technique has been a continual inspiration to each of us and to mycologists all over the world. LUCILLE K. GEORG U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Communicable Disease Center Atlanta, Georgia

OUR LITTLE COLONY AND How IT GREW

VHIS is the story with a fairy-ring, told to me by a cultured fungus from the medical branch of the family. Fs 1 Rj Not being green, we, in our search for food, have caused disease, destruction and decay for thousands and a25seesesSthousands of years. Nonetheless, we have kept nature's balance of power and added immeasurably to man's conviviality. It

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was only three centuries ago that our little ones were peeked at by Hooke and less than twvo centuries ago that we were proven to cause ringworm and thrush, thus originating medical microbiology and inci- dentally, gaining priority over bacteria. Although botanists considered us a low form of life, they did arrange us into a sort of social hierarchy in the i9th century. By the early part of the 20th century almost all of us who affect man superficially or deeply had been discovered and in many instances severely chastised. After monumental observations on our imperfect forms, ambivalent Sabouraud had, on the one hand, stabilized our growth by proper feeding and, on the other hand, poisoned a number of us for getting in people's hair. The scientific world of the 1920'S was an international community filled with an air of benevolence and magnanimity. Fleming just made a notation that one of us had gotten into his culture dishes and inhibited the growth of bacteria. Dodge published his Kinsey report after probing the secrets of the sex life of one of our somewhat pink bread molds. To absolve some of us from the sin of omission of our perfect stage, taxonomists and synonomists kept baptizing us often with reclaimed names. With classical exceptions we were one of the more successful forms of life, making our way in the medical world without subsidy, until the recent scientific set began to interfere seriously with our population explosion. Here in the States we were increasingly singled out for what we were doing to semi-permeable man, for kicking up dust in the valley, for infringing on our established breeding grounds and for gaining quite a foot-hold, especially in athletes. One of my shelf fungus friends told me that Professor Hopkins had written about us in a textbook on bacteriology, and that he had bottled up a number of us he had caught invading the privacy of man's integument and shelved us with some French immigrants consigned to New York's sclerotia by Sabouraud. With the projected amalgamation of the hospital, clinic and medical school in 1926, Columbia University appointed Dr. Hop- kins as professor of Dermatology-a man who would apply the technics of pure science to clinical investigation. As we fungi were increasingly invading the skin, either from without or from within, and a number of us were going unrecognized, the technics of pure science first fell on us. Whether we were plants or animals was still undecided, so Dr.

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER MYCOLOGISTS 123I 2 3

Hopkins reasoned that crossing botany and medicine might result in a new species, the Medical Mycologist. With this fusion in mind he asked his good friends Drs. Dodge and Harper for advice. They enthusiastically endorsed the plan and singled out Rhoda Benham, a student of botany, as the type member of the species. And so, in the summer of 1926, our dikaryon formed, in a cell in Vanderbilt Clinic on the border of Hell's Kitchen. Dr. Benham was given desk space in the Wassermann laboratory, a second-hand microscope, and asked to study and nurture some of Dr. Hopkin's captives. Although we were new to her, this warm, moist and rather dark milieu created a climate favorable for growth. When we needed nourishment she would borrow the stew pan from the Pathology Department's lunch room and make up a batch of so-called media. Later in the year, Dr. Benham was asked if she would like to go over to the clinic for skin diseases and see what we did to humans. Shortly, under Dr. Hopkins' direction, she began to up-root and botanize us. An abandoned animal room in the Department of Pathology was converted into a Medical Mycology laboratory, a room not entirely abandoned by small animals of the- Columbian era or of the toujours gai gendre. In this academic atmosphere we were subjected to the indignities of being rolled, ground, diluted, agglutinated or shot into animals. With prohibition and 3.2 per cent beer on its way, cultivation of our yeast colonies became increasingly popular. It was then that Dr. Benham began her life-long study of our yeasts and other budding colonies, and within the year, by devious immunologic technics, made known our true identity. In 1928, "togetherness" having been accomplished, we moved to the new Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. In this modern setting ample space was allotted for our clinical study in the Dermatology Department of Vanderbilt Clinic. However, as some time was to elapse before the growth of the primary colony was recognized, laboratory space had to be borrowed from the friendly Dr. Jobbling in the Pathology Department so that Dr. Benham and dermatologists interested in us might continue investigative work. But Dr. Hopkins, with foresight, a rather rare quality in medical circles, continued to envision a complete unit of Medical Mycology. As it is the personal document that is of particular importance in the history of medicine, my sapro- phytic colleagues have uncovered a plea for recognition from the old

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 1962 i SECTION ON 242 4 SECTION ON MICROBIOLOGY

files of Dr. Hopkins which follows: "The study of fungi causing human disease has hitherto been carried on almost exclusively by investigators whose primary interest and training encompassed medical fields. Botanists trained in the study of fungi have entered and, to some extent, dominated the field of plant pathology, but the medical mycologist is almost a new species. Today one is better informed as to the structure, life history, and classification of fungi causing diseases of plants than as to those producing such infections in man. The diffi- culty and frequently the impossibility of identifying fungi isolated from human lesions or of determining their pathogenic significance has handicapped students of these infections. There is much to suggest that many such diseases pass through our clinics unrecognized. As a field for investigation, medical mycology is full of promise." And to quote further, "For the research staff of this unit it seems wise to continue to obtain scientists with a fundamental training in botany and to enable them to acquire a knowledge of the pathologic and clinical aspects of their work as they proceed with their investigation. Human diseases caused by fungi have long attracted the interest of dermatologists because of the frequency with which they infect the skin superficially or systemically. Botanists and physicians working together in the Department of Dermatology, advised by a professorial committee from interested branches of medicine, would offer a brilliant field for basic research, clinical investigation and the teaching of medical mycology." Support of this pioneering project was not forthcoming from Columbia, so Dr. Hopkins consulted Dr. Alan Gregg of the Rockefeller Foundation. In March I929, the Foundation granted $5o,ooo.oo for the support of research in Medical Mycology, to be used over a five-year period, stipulating that at the end of this period the obligation was to be taken over by Columbia. Spirits were high and, for the occasion, were heightened by Dr. Hopkins' famous mycologic mixture siphoned out of an oversized Erlenmeyer flask. By the summer of 1929, the five-year plan was well under way. The brilliant, genial and stimulating plant pathologist, Dr. Dodge, had been engaged as a part-time consultant and lecturer. Professor Margaret Church, an authority on the Hyphomycetes, was engaged for the summer to assist in the organization of the mycologic collection and the assembling of a library. Dr. Chester Emmons who had just com-

Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. THREE PIONEER MYCOLOGISTS I 2 5 THREEPIONEER MYCOLOGISTS 125~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ pleted his doctorate in botalny was 1)r. 1)odge's choice for full-time research. Dr. EmlmOns bcgani on the clhaOtic dermatophytcs, meanwhile caring for the stock cultures-one of them, Coccidiodes ijnnitis sickened him for a while. Mliss Mary Moss, who had majored in botany, became Dr. Benham's understudy in the clinic and later aided in the identifi- cation of cultures from the clinic and all those requested by physicians having a problem in mycologic diagnosis, a most necessary and time- consuming work. A helper was engaged to attend to glasswvare, animals and prepare media. Dr. Palmer of the Department of Medicine, and again Dr. Jobbling, loaned rooms for carrying out this investigative work. During these golden years this young dedicated group, under the tutelage of Drs. Hopkins and Dodge, initiated their fundamental work, familiar to all of you. During this time Miss Moss left to study medicine and was replaced by the indefatigable and brilliant investigator, Mary Ellen Hopper, and our loyal Bennie \Tasi became the helper of all. Dr. Arturo Carri6n, dermatologist at the San J uan School of Tropical Medicine, carried on intensive morphologic studies for a year, and fromn near and far interested scientists were wvelcomed. In this friendly climate students of mNycology even acquired for themselves our outstanding qualities of contagious transmission, transplantation without loss of characteristics, cultural growth and evxen survival under adverse conditions. And so ends the story of how our little colony grew in it s own symbiotic way. In closing-I 1know that vTou are deeply indebted to Drs. Hazen and Brown for this ambrosia beetle feast, but as a representative of the cultured pathogenic fungi, may I paraphrase Al lark Twvain by saying: I knoxv nothing about them-the two hygienic discoverers of Nystatin-at least, I knoxv only two things about them: neither has been in the penitentiary-and I don't know why, they have killed many of our budding brethren. BEATRICF tKESTENl. College of Physicians and Surgeons, Colhunbia Unkicversity, New York

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 1962