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MEDICAL CENTER 
DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY 
55 Lake Avenue North 
Dr. Donald Frederickson 
Director 
NIH 
Bethesda, MD 20205 
December 12, 1979 Telephone (617) 856-2292 
Dear Dr. Frederickson: 
I would like to take this opportunity to comment on the newly proposed 
Section III -o of the recombinant DNA guidelines. I have been working with 
recombinant DNA since my postdoctoral years (1972-1975) with David Hogness. 
Since that time I have followed with intense interest the discussions of 
potential biohazards and their containment. I believe the initial conser- 
vativism was appropriate. However, the combination of experience and experi- 
ments addressing the realities of various potential biohazards as well as rr\y 
own more substantive appreciation of the realities of infectious disease 
epidemiology, a result of teaching microbiology to medical students, lead 
me to conclude that it is now fully appropriate to reduce the stringency 
of the current administrative, biological and physical containment guidelines. 
I believe the procedures outlined in Section 1 1 1 -0 , dropping most re- 
combinant DNA work to PI, EK1 , will provide ample containment and should 
significantly reduce the experimental restrictions which have hindered 
the pace of research progress. I am, in fact, eagerly looking forward to 
the new guidelines and the relief these will provide our group from the 
difficulties inherent in the EK2 vector systems. 
D/o/k 
Raymond L. Unite 
Associate Professor of Microbiology 
RLW: jtg 
[455] 
An Equal Opportunity Employer 
