May 22, 1962

Dr. James V. Neel

Department of Human Genetics
University of Michigan Medical Schoo!
1133 E. Catherine Street

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dear Jim:

|} am very sorry that my remarks about Genetics at Hiroshima

could have had any flavor of personal criticism which was not Intended
at all. [ fully realize the kind of difficulty that you remark on fn
organizing a genetic program and | guess | was merely expressing my
Gbseppolntwent that better could not have been done In the circumstances.

rhaps this was simply the result of too high an expectation. | do not
see how any better could be done with part time and highly distractable
supervision from the United States. | do feel that It would be extremely
Important to elicit greater Interest In the ABCC project among Japanese
who, If properly approached, might be expected to have the greatest Interest
in devoting themselves to the study of this population. And | do feel
that this can be accomp|$ihed most successfully by stressing the opportunity
for a basic study of population genetics rather than an exclusive con-
@entration on the radiation problem. | do not think you are going to
be able to get very far In your analysis of nondisjunction In this popu-
lation unless you can get a much more zealous Interest In the problem
on the part of our Japanese col leagues.

My remarks on the congenital anomalies study, {| thought, mirrored
your own cautions with regard to the significance of the low Incidence.

Thank you for giving me thereference to your paper In Lancet, March
10, 1962 = I had heard obliquely about It but hadn't yet located It and
the people | talked to In Hiroshima had not yet seen It.

{ hope | have been able to convey my Impression that you did do an
Incredible Job under very difficult circumstances, but that the gruitfulness
of future work there must depend on securing more effective participation
of the Japanese geneticists who have so far tended to avold this study. |
am very sorry If {! have conveyed any other impresston.

Cordially,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics

JC

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