September 15, 1978 
A STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE ADOPTION OF THE PROPOSED REVISED GUIDELINES 
FOR RECOMBINANT DNA RESEARCH PREPARED BY CHARLES P. EMERSON, JR, PHD. AND 
MICHAEL KUEHL, MD, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. 
I am Charles Emerson, Associate Professor of Biology at the 
University of Virginia. I would like to read a statement in support of 
adoption of the revised Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Research. This 
statement was prepared by myself and Dr. Michael Kuehl of the Department of 
Aerobiology, and reflects our views as well as those of Drs. Robert 
Grainger and Robert Devlin of the Department of Biology and Drs. Thomas 
Parsons, Carolyn Collins and William Steinberg of the Department of 
Microbiology . at the University of Virginia. 
We are molecular biologists whose research programs are focused 
on understanding the mechanisms of gene regulation in higher organisms. 
Specifically, we are studying a variety of problems which include^, for 
example, the molecular basis of gene retaliation during embryonic 
development of avian and human muscle, genetic control of antibody 
formation, and expression of tumor viruses in avian and mammalian cells. 
Our research programs have been and will continue to be profoundly 
influenced by the information and the ideas resulting from recombinant 
DNA reasearch and will be greatly affected by any Guidelines imposed on 
this area of research. 
We agree that the current Guidelines (June 23 , 197&), which 
have imposed stringent restriction^ oT] experiments involving recombinant 
DNA technology during the past few years', were appropriate. This period 
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