Chapter 16: Molecular Medicine

Stanford’s medical school was long on talent but short on space. Research conditions were cramped and people were frustrated. When Lederberg arrived in February 1959, his laboratory was in a somewhat dated biophysics building and comprised two large rooms stuffed with workbenches that were covered with agar plates, pipettes, esoteric tubing, autoclaves, handheld counters, and other paraphernalia. Esther Lederberg, and other researchers and assistants were crowded in there with him. Fortunately, Lederberg had a flair for not only envisioning new fields of study but also raising funds to support them.