STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

December 20, 1954

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics

The University of Wisconsin
Madison 6, Wisconsin

Dear Dr. Lederberg:

My apologies for not acknowledging more promptly your very
welcome letter of December 6th. I have been swamped this past two weeks
by end-quarter business, and am just now getting my head above water.
Needless to say I was very pleased by your intimation that you might be
willing to participate in next summer's Growth Symposium. Past experience
of the Society has shown that efforts to adhere to a sharply defined
overall theme have not been altogether successful, and the best results
have been obtained by choosing the best contributors available and hoping,
but not insisting, that some pattern will emerge.

However, you may gain a fairly good idea of what to expect if
I list the speakers who have been invited. Dr. R. E. Billingham of London
(acquired tolerance to tissue transplants); Dr. Max Delbruck (phototropism
in Phycomyces); Dr. Betty Geren of M.I.T. (myelin formation); Dr. Viktor
Hamburger (influence of tumors on neuron differentiation); Dr. Irene Manton
of Leeds, England (microstructure of flagella, cilia and chromosomes);
Dr. M. C. Niu, who will discuss the work to which you referred in your
letter; Dr. H. Swift (cytochemistry of nucleic acids); Dr. Vance Tartar
(protozoan organization and regeneration); Dr. Ralph Wetmore (differentia-
tion of plant tissues in culture). No final decision has been made con-
cerning one or two additional speakers who may be invited.

Although some of the topics to be covered may not be of direct
interest to you, I am sure you would enjoy the meetings, and there is such
widespread interest in your own work I am sure you would find a recep-
tive and enthusiastic audience. The subject you proposed, Infection and
Heredity, would be most appropriate, and it would be entirely suitable for
you and your wife to be listed as joint authors. I am not in a position,
without consulting other members of the Executive Committee and especially
the treasurer (!) to offer transportation expenses to your wife, but I can
assure you that there would be no expense for room and board for either of
you while at the meetings.

I sincerely hope that I shall soon receive a favorable reply.
With very best regards,

Sincerely,
Vuctn J.
Victor Twitty
VCT: gz