McARDLE LABORATORY 
FOR CANCER RESEARCH 
DEPARTMENT OF ONCOLOGY 
MEDICAL SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
September 3, 1980 
Dr. William J. Gartland 
Office of the Recombinant DNA Activities 
N.I.H. (Building 31 - Room 4A52) 
Bethesda, MD 20014 
Dear Bill: 
This letter is in support of Dr. Maxine Singer's proposal 
[Feder. Reg. 45 (1980) No. 164, p. 55929, section 8] to change and 
eliminate most of the administrative requirements specified by the 
NIH Guidelines. Certainly, the absence of any practical ly-s igni f icant 
risks does not warrant the present cumbersome bureaucracy, paperwork, 
and wasted time. Dr. Singer's proposal is a step in the right 
direction, with the next step being the suspension of the entire 
regulatory machinery spawn by the NIH Guidelines, until such time 
when any significant risks should materialize and be proven. The 
present regulatory aspects of NIH are of no benefit to science or 
Society, while sapping our resources and good will, and creating new 
dangers of their own, as per the enclosed article in TIBS. 
I hope that the changes proposed by Dr. Singer will be promptly 
instituted. 
With the best personal regards. 
Sincerely yours 
Waclaw Szybalski 'l 
Professor of Oncology 
WS;ms 
cc: Dr. Maxine Singer 
450 North Randall Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 
608-262-2177' 
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