The transformation and reorientation
of NIH were beneficial to Thressa and Earl and to other
scientists devoted to basic research. Thressa continued
to work on the bacterial degradation of cholesterol,
the project she had started with Christian Anfinsen at Harvard. Earl had a formal association with Anfinsen's
laboratory but worked independently in pursuing his
research on fatty acid metabolism. They both participated
in a journal club at which they could discuss new ideas
and discoveries in biochemistry with scientists from
other research groups in the National Heart Institute
and beyond.
Thressa and Earl began their laboratory
work in Building 3, where NHI's intramural laboratories
were originally set up. At that time, this building
still had facilities for animal breeding on the third
and the attic floors, and its first floor had been occupied
by scientists from another institute. In retrospect,
it was a remarkable group of scientists that worked
under the same roof. Out of this group came three Nobel
laureates (Arthur Kornberg, Julius Axelrod, and Christian
Anfinsen); three NIH Directors (James Shannon, Donald
Fredrickson, and James Wyngaarden); and dozens of members
of the National Academy of Sciences including Thressa
and Earl. These people became a crucial seed for the
growth of a thriving community of biochemists at NIH.
Most laboratories in Building 3 were relocated
to the Clinical Center after its opening in 1953. A
few years later, however, Earl and Thressa returned
to Building 3 with some other scientists. In 1962 Earl
was appointed the chief of the Laboratory of Biochemistry
of NHI, and Thressa became a section head in this laboratory
twelve years later. Their laboratory moved to Building
50 when it opened in 2001.
Video: Earl
Stadtman on biochemists in Building 3 at NIH, circa 1950.
Running time: 2:51 minutes
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