Jordan U. Gutterman, MD, Oral History Interview, April 13, 2012

Jordan U. Gutterman, MD, Oral History Interview, April 13, 2012

Download Full Interview Transcript (350 KB)

Description

Major Topics Covered:

  • Research: Interferon; success with patients; largest clinical trial; hairy-cell leukemia; tests on other cancers
  • Research: Avicins and nutrition
  • Economics of clinical trials, drug testing; financial support for research

Identifier

GuttermanJ_02_20120413

Publication Date

4-13-2012

Publisher

The Historical Resources Center, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas Cancer Center

City

Houston, Texas

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Topics Covered

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas System. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute

Disciplines

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History

About the Interview

About the Interview Subject:

Dr. Jordan U. Gutterman (born in Flandreau, South Dakota) came to MD Anderson in 1971 as a Senior Fellow in the Department of Developmental Therapeutics. He is currently Professor and Section Chief of the Department of Systems Biology. Dr. Gutterman is best known for discoveries arising from his work directing the world’s largest clinical study of interferon.

Interview Profile:

Over the course of three sessions conducted in 2012 (totaling approximately 5 hours), Dr. Jordan U. Gutterman (born in Flandreau, South Dakota) is interviewed as a follow up to three interviews conducted between 2004 and 2006 by Lesley Brunet. Tacey A. Rosolowski, Ph.D. interviews Dr. Gutterman in his office MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Park. Dr. Gutterman came to MD Anderson in 1971 as a Senior Fellow in the Department of Developmental Therapeutics. He is currently Professor and Section Chief of the Department of Systems Biology. Dr. Gutterman’s office is decorated with examples of his paintings –studies of vibrant color in acrylic paint. Also on display is the framed cover from the 30 March 1980 issue of Time Magazine, featuring the title: “Interferon: The IF Drug for Cancer.” Dr. Gutterman is best known for discoveries arising from his work directing the world’s largest clinical study of interferon.

Dr. Gutterman earned his BA in Liberal Arts at th e University of Virginia, Charlottesville (1960). His M.D. was conferred in 1964 by the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond. He went on to his Internship in Medicine at Duke Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina (1965), advancing to a Junior Assistant Residency and then a Hematology Fellowship. He then served as Chief Resident in Medicine at that same institution before coming to MD Anderson. Dr. Gutterman has received numerous awards, among them Milstein Award from the International Society for Interferon Research (1992).

In this interview, Dr. Gutterman discusses all dimensions of his work on interferon, from the research underpinnings and clinical challenges, to work of securing funding and dealing with celebrity. He talks about his family background and its influence on his beliefs about clinical care as well as nutrition. He also speaks for the first time on record about his work with avicins (derived from the acacia tree) and other plant substances with immuno-therapeutic properties.

Redaction Music:

Cylinder Five by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Conditions Governing Access

Redacted

Jordan U. Gutterman, MD, Oral History Interview, April 13, 2012

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