8 
actually brought into being prior to the establishment of the present 
program by the National Heart Institute. It would seem that concern on the 
part of a study section and a council was not enough. To create such a 
program, it was necessary to have concerted action on the part of a national 
advisory council and institute staff on the one hand, and study section and 
DRG staff on the other. Without strong concerted efforts by a national 
advisory council and institute staff (or the equivalent) the delivery of a 
new program conceived at a study section level was extremely difficult or 
impossible. This is particularly the case when no interest or enthusiasm 
for the program exists at higher administrative levels. 
Chapter II. THE NHI PERIOlA ^ 
A. Origin of the idea in the National Heart Institute 
In 1956, Dr. James Watt, the Director of the National Heart Institute, and 
Dr. Paul D. White, then a member of the National Advisory Heart Council, 
visited Russia. Dr. Watt had long been interested in and supported the use 
of primates in research. When he learned of the Russian work on hjrpertension 
with the subhuman primate, he arranged to visit the primate colony at Sukhumi— 
on the Black Sea, where subhuman primate research had been carried on contin- 
uously since the 1920' s. 
Prior to coming to the Heart Institute, Dr. Watt himself had been involved 
with primate research for about two years in Puerto Rico, working with a 
colony of monkeys on the small island of Santiago. Upon the return of the 
mission from Russia, Dr. Watt discussed his visit with Heart Council members. 
Then, at the Council's February meeting, he gave a report of h^s trip to 
Sukhumi and talked with the Council and its Planning Committee-' about the 
need for more^ef fective primate research facilities in the United States. 
The Council,"^ in line with advice from its Planning Committee,-^ recommended 
that a primate colony be developed on the mainland of the United States, near 
a university, to "serve as a site for a long-term, multiuniversity, multidis- 
ciplinary approach to cardiovascular problems." The Council charged its 
_1/ See Chart, page 50: Groups Involved in Development and Administration 
of Regional Primate Research Centers Program relative to committees referred 
to in this document. 
11 Dr. K. F. Meyer had also visited Sukhumi in 1956. Upon his return, he 
advocated the development of a primate research colony in the U. S. in a 
letter to Dr. Shannon. (_1) 
3/ The words "Planning Committee" will always refer to the Heart Council's 
Planning Committee, 
4/ February 1957 meeting. 
_5/ January 1957 meeting. 
