Chapter 02: Discovering and Rich and International Community at MD Anderson in the Seventies
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Description
Dr. Freedman begins this chapter with a fuller discussion of how he came to MD Anderson. He also comments on his family’s adjustment to life in the United States and the social life of MD Anderson in the mid-Seventies, with its international faculty.
Identifier
FreedmanR_01_20120224_C02
Publication Date
2-24-2012
City
Houston, Texas
Interview Session
Ralph Freedman, MD, Oral History Interview, February 24, 2012
Topics Covered
The Interview Subject's Story - Joining MD Anderson/Coming to Texas; Joining MD Anderson/Coming to Texas; MD Anderson Culture; MD Anderson History
Transcript
Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:
So how did you—? When you came to MD Anderson in 1976, what did you know about its reputation and how did you find the institution when you arrived?
Ralph Freedman, MD:
Well, I didn't know as much about its reputation as about individuals that worked there. I knew about Felix Rutledge, and I knew about people like Joe Sinkovics, and of course the institution was fairly young. When I joined it, it was hardly— Let's see, it's now about 60-something years old?
Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:
It was in its 20s then.
Ralph Freedman, MD:
Yeah, it was very young. But what was interesting, when I got here I found there were many people like myself that came from all parts of the world—South America, Britain. Michael Keating was from Australia. There were several others from "Down Under," as we used to say. There were others from England, from Europe, and South America. So there was quite— I don't know the extent, but in the early stages of development of MD Anderson, there were probably quite a high proportion of individuals who were not US born.
Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:
A real international community.
Ralph Freedman, MD:
It really was. Benjamin Lichtiger is from South America. Let's see, well—pathology, I just forgot his name. Now he's the head of the transfusion service. And then the head of Pathology was from Trujillo, South America. So that's how it was.
Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:
What did that add to the climate—intellectual climate?
Ralph Freedman, MD:
I think it added a lot. I mean it created an atmosphere of free expression, of interaction, and people learning from each other. Everybody had something to offer. In that situation, I think you have opportunities to learn. There were also potential opportunities for friction, but I think the other was predominant.
Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:
So in your work on the cell lines, what—? How did that evolve during the first year, and what were your findings? Were they preliminary, or were you actually coming to conclusions at that time?
Ralph Freedman, MD:
I don't think any of the work that I did was earth-shattering. But it was developing basic principles, characterizing cell lines. I worked with Mike Siciliano early on to—yep.
Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:
Here let me just pause this. (end of audio 1)
Recommended Citation
Freedman, Ralph MD and Rosolowski, Tacey A. PhD, "Chapter 02: Discovering and Rich and International Community at MD Anderson in the Seventies" (2012). Interview Chapters. 942.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/942
Conditions Governing Access
Open
