HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER 
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19140 
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY 
DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY 
December 21, 1979 
Dr. Donald S. Fredrickson 
Director, National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, Maryland 20205 
Dear Dr. Fredrickson: 
This letter is to strongly support the proposed changes in the 
NIH Guidelines for Recombinant DNA research. As a member of the 
Institutional Biosafety Conmittee of this University, I can say that 
these new regulations will not only simplify the task of our com- 
mittee, but will aid researchers engaged in this type of research. 
We will certainly continue to monitor all research using recombinant 
molecules. The lack of significant risk of this type of research has 
already been demonstrated. The outstanding scientific value of these 
techniques have also been demonstrated. Lastly, the potential for 
practical application has shown great promise. I, therefore, view 
the benefit/risk ratio to be far ahead of many, if not most, bio- 
medical research technologies especially those that are not 
adequately regulated or controlled. 
Sincerely 
Gerald D. Shockman, Ph.D. 
Professor and Chairman 
GDS:cms 
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