Molecular Medicine in the War on Cancer: Success or Failure?

Office of NIH History Lecture Series A virologist is among the luckiest of biologists because he can see into his chosen pet down to the details of all of its molecules. ” --David Baltimore, 1975. Accepting his Nobel Prize for his part in the identification of reverse transcriptase, David Baltimore reflected on the “ luck ” that virologists enjoyed in their ability to see into problems with molecular precision. Although this vision seems inspiring and compelling today, Baltimore spoke at a time of fierce debate among biologists, legislators, and clinicians as to what, if anything, this molecular approach to disease offered. Many were concerned that seeing into the molecular roots of illness left other problems invisible. This lecture will examine debates over the identification of human cancer viruses and the development of a cancer vaccine during the War on Cancer, an attempt larger than the Human Genome Project, as a case for understanding the promise and pitfalls molecular medicine. As the 50th anniversary of the War on Cancer approaches, this history also provides an opportunity to reflect on the ramifications of how success or failure are defined for the future path of biomedical research. Robin Wolfe Scheffler, Associate Professor in the Science, Technology, and Society Program, MIT is an historian of the modern biological and biomedical sciences and their intersections with developments in American history. He is currently working on a project that follows the hi...
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