Atlanta Daily World

Better Medical Research For Vets To Be Provided

More and better research on medical problems of veterans will be provided through creation of full-time research positions for doctors in Veterans Administration hospitals as clinical investigators.

Dr. J. C. Nunemaker, director of the education service at VA central office in Washington, D. C., said physicians and dentists from within and outside VA will be appointed as clinical investigators in Jan. and July.

The first group of nine clinical investigators, was appointed Jan. 1, 1957. Dr. Nunemaker said.

VA's intensive research attack on medical problems of special importance to veterans has been carried out to date by doctors whose main duty is the care of patients in VA hospitals.

Dr. Nunemaker emphasized VA will continue its present support of research by these doctors and will expand such support where justified.

The new program of full-time researchers, Dr. Nunemaker said, will supplement the existing program of part-time research to provide more intensive activities where needed.

Each clinical investigator will have research as his primary responsibility and will spend at least three-fourths of his working time in it. He will have as his advisor an outstanding representative of his special field of medicine.

The remainder of the clinical investigator's working time will be spent in care of patients as a member of the clinical staff of a VA hospital, and in teaching other physicians. Through his clinical work in the hospital, he will have the advantage of a close relationship to the VA patient-care program.

Appointment as a clinical investigator may be for a period of from one to three years. At the end of this period, the clinical investigator may remain in full-time VA employment with primary responsibility for patient care but with continued support for his research throughout his career.

The nine clinical investigators, all physicians, who were appointed January 1, are:

Dr. Raymond C. Christensen, who has been a research fellow in the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory at Wayne University, Detroit, Mich.

Dr. Robert Gilbert, instructor at the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center and attending physician at the University Hospital and VA Hospital, Syracuse, N. Y.

Dr. Francis J. Haddy of the Army Medical Corps, Fort Knox Ky.

Dr. William B. Jones of the University Hospital, Birmingham, Ala.

Dr. Richard D. Judge, instructor in internal medicine at the University of Michigan and physician at the VA hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Dr. Joseph M. Merrill of the VA hospital at Nashville, Tenn. and assistant in medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical School

Dr. Harold G. Muchmore, clinical assistant and instructor at the Oklahoma University School of Medicine and physician at the VA hospital in Oklahoma City

Dr. Herschel V. Murdaugh, instructor at Duke University School of Medicine and physician at the VA hospital in Durham, N. C.

Dr. Albert W. Schreiner, instructor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.

All the nine except Dr. Christensen and Dr. Haddy will work at the VA hospitals in the communities in which they are now living. Dr. Christensen will go to the VA Research Hospital in Chicago where he worked before going into the Army Medical Corps.

Research by the clinical investigators will be in the fields of neurology and psychiatry, diseases of the heart, and blood vessels, cancer degenerative diseases, and problems of aging Dr. Nunemaker said

Dr. Herschel V. Murdaugh, in the clinical investigator program not only will improve medical care for veteran-patients, it also will contribute to the overall health of the nation through training of experienced research doctors and knowledge gained about diseases.