The research department of the National Jewish Hospital has been awarded $500 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for one of the most outstanding contributions to the study of tuberculosis in the past ten years.
This was given in recognition of the work of Dr. H. J. Corper, director of the hospital research laboratory, and one of the most prominent Jewish scientists in the country; and of Dr. Nao Uyet, research chemist of the hospital.
The discovery of a more accurate method of detecting the presence of tuberculosis bacilli was the work for which they received the award.
Comment accompanying the announcement of the award noted that use of (Continued on Page 4)
the Irish potato in detecting the tuberculosis bacilli, which method is a part of their discovery, is being adopted by hospitals and sanitaria throughout the country.
Dr. Corper and Dr. Uyei first succeeded in their use of the potato for detecting the presence of the tuberculosis bacilli four years ago. At that time, only guinea pigs, coagulated eggs, serum and gelatin had been utilized for the purpose.
The guinea pig, which had been best for the purpose, had not been entirely satisfactory because of the necessity o(###) feeding, which developed other diseases and because tuberculosis bacilli could not be discovered quickly enough, according to Dr. Corper.
The Irish potato solved the problem in furnishing a method that was quicker, simpler, more economical, and more accurate, according to Dr. Corper.
“All that is needed is an incubator and potatoes,” he says.
The $500 award will be used for further research to find an actual cure for the disease.
The next step, in Dr. Corper’s opinion, is to discover what material in the potato stimulates the growth of the tuberculosis bacilli.
“If we can discover just what this material is,-starch, protein, vitamins, etc. we shall have advanced another step in the road to a cure.” He indicated that knowledge of what constitutes such material will give doctors a definite idea of what part of the human tissue to strengthen for battle with the disease.
The research department of the National Jewish Hospital has been in existence a little less than 10 years, and was organized in the fall of 1919 by Dr. Corper, who came to the hospital with experience in the public health service of Chicago, and as a Major in the medical corps of the United States army.
This research department is the only one of its kind, working to find a cure for tuberculosis, and is supported by the contributions of Jewish philanthropists all over the country who give to the National Jewish Hospital.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
