OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY
OF NEW YORK

  

Mount Sinai School of Medicine * The Mount Sinai Hospital

October 19, 1978 . Environmental Sciences Laboratory
Cummings Basic Sciences Building
10 East 102 Street
New York, New York 10029

(212) 650-6173
Dr. Joshua Lederberg, President

The Rockefeller University
1230 York Avenue
New York, New York 10021

Dear Josh:

My congratulations on your induction, although I hope that your
research plans will have a somewhat wider geographical extent
than what was suggested, despite the difficulties in traversing
New York.

To start with, Cuyler Hammond and I have an immediate request for SY
your help. The accelerating expansion of chronic disease epi-
demiology, including but not limited to cancer studies, has been
accompanied by the eager use of the observations in public policy
decisions concerned with control. While this is by no means un-
desirable, it simultaneously makes the quality of these data a

matter of importance. Therefore, we've been somewhat concerned

that some studies are less than rigorous and that comparatively

little innovation and methodological progress is occurring.

In particular, there has been a virtual dearth of contact with
broader biological population studies, and the "professional"
epidemiologists have not always had the advantage of progress
being made in other fields.

To influeme this couse of events, and we are presumptuous enough
to believe it can be modified and that we might make some small
contribution to this, we've considered a number of possibilities,
Taking a leaf from other scientific fields, it's been suggested
that a journal of environmental epidemiology, if it set and main-
tained high standards and was lucky enough to be both authorita-
tive and influential, would be useful, especially if it were
critical and frank (albeit polite), After much thought, Cuyler
has agreed to edit it and I would help, with the collaboration of
a small number of first-rate people. The purposes of this long
preamble are first, to ask your advice concerning who, in your
opinion, in the biological sciences (from population genetics to
anthropology) should be consulted by us and, second, to ask whether
Dr. Joshua Lederberg 2. October 19, 1978

you'd like to join with us on the Editorial Board.
Cuyler joins me in warm regards.

Cordially,

on St Selikoff, M.D.
Profess —

IJS:jm
cc: Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond