A pediatrician and virologist trained at the University of Rochester and Harvard Medical School, Carleton Gajdusek became interested in epidemiological issues in "exotic and isolated populations" early in the 1950s, and while working as a visiting investigator at the Walter and Eliza Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne he had his first introduction to a neurological disorder, kuru, that was endemic among the Neolithic Fore of New Guinea. In an exemplary study, Gajudusek determined that kuru was not hereditary, as previously supposed, but was an infectious disease transmitted through the ritualistic consumption of the brains of deceased relatives. He was recognized for his achievements with the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Ca. 1500 items, 7 linear feet.
Researchers must have written permission from D. Carleton Gajdusek to use this collection.
Presented by D. Carleton Gajdusek and accessioned, 1988 (1988 540ms).
Gajdusek's journals are noted separately at: D. Carleton (Daniel Carleton) Gajdusek Journals (B G13j).
