J. Michael Bishop Papers Online

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Kelsi Evans

We are pleased to announce that the J. Michael Bishop Papers digital collection is now available publicly on Calisphere.org. Bishop is a Nobel Prize-winning researcher and UCSF Chancellor Emeritus. The digital collection features hundreds of pages of material and photographs selected from Bishop’s papers housed in the UCSF Archives and Special Collections (MSS 2007-21).

J. Michael Bishop college portrait, Gettysburg College, circa 1955. MSS 2007-21, box 1, folder 4.

J. Michael Bishop portrait with molecular model, circa 2000. MSS 2007-21, case D, folder 1.

J. Michael Bishop, MD, joined the UCSF faculty in 1968. He was appointed director of the GW Hooper Research Foundation in 1981 and named UCSF Chancellor in 1998, a post he held until 2009. He continues to serve as Hooper’s director and as professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

J. Michael Bishop email to Harold Varmus regarding Bishop’s University of California, San Francisco Chancellor appointment, 1998-02-06. MSS 2007-21, carton 18, folder 43.

In 1989, Bishop and his research partner, Harold Varmus, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in cancer research. Bishop and Varmus discovered the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes. Their work helped clarify the processes that convert normal cellular genes into cancer genes and impacted our understanding of the genesis of human cancer.

J. Michael Bishop and Harold Varmus at Nobel Shindig, a county-western themed dinner party given by Varmus and Bishop in celebration of their Nobel Prize award; held at DeMarco’s 23 Club, Brisbane, California, 1989. MSS 2007-21, carton 8, folder 41.

The digital collection features selections from Bishop’s laboratory research notebooks and professional papers, including article drafts, correspondence with other scientists, and teaching and lecture material. Also included are photographs and draft figures created by Bishop for his publications.

Purification of Annealed Product Gd RNA graphs. Selected page from a laboratory research binder of J. Michael Bishop, circa 1970. MSS 2007-21, carton 18, folder 3.

The Life Cycle of Rous Sarcoma Virus diagram drawing (1) by J. Michael Bishop; created for Bishop’s article “Oncogenes” published in Scientific American, 1982. MSS 2007-21, carton 2, folder 2.

You can view the digital collection on Calisphere.org. If you would like to visit the UCSF Archives and work with the complete physical collection, please check out the detailed inventory available on the Online Archive of California and make an appointment with us.

Remembering Helen Gofman

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Kelsi Evans

This is a guest post by Kristin Daniel, UCSF Archives & Special Collections Intern.

The UCSF Archives is pleased to announce the official addition of the Helen Fahl Gofman papers. This collection, spanning several decades between the 1950s and the 1980s, details a woman who was a much loved teacher, mentor, doctor, and leader. Dr. Gofman’s affiliation with UCSF pediatrics began in 1945 when she graduated from the School of Medicine and also completed her internship and residency on campus. Gofman received faculty status in 1953 and worked in various programs until her retirement in 1983. Gofman is best remembered as a founding member, and then director, of the UCSF Child Study Unit (CSU).

Helen Gofman playing the viola, circa 1950. MSS 2014-17, Gofman papers.

Helen Gofman playing the bass, circa 1950. MSS 2014-17, Gofman papers.

Helen Gofman was, by all accounts, a passionate and cheerful woman. She was dedicated to the care of the “total patient”—not just the physical or mental condition of the child, but also how that condition impacted their social, emotional, developmental, and behavioral well-being. Considered a national leader in the field of behavioral pediatrics, Gofman was involved with UCSF’s Child Study Unit (now known as the Division of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics) since its inception in 1948.

Helen Gofman and child, circa 1980. Photograph collection, portraits, Gofman.

Dr. Gofman and the rest of the CSU staff of doctors, nurses, social workers, speech pathologists and special education experts sought to help children whose conditions might have otherwise been misdiagnosed or gone untreated (including cases of dyslexia or ADHD) by other healthcare professionals. The goal of the CSU was not only to help these children and their families, but also to develop a new generation of pediatric health professionals; the CSU trained clinicians to value their patients and focus on finding personalized treatments that take into account all aspects of the child’s life, not just their condition.

Helen Gofman at her retirement party, 1984. MSS 2014-17, Gofman papers.

The Helen Gofman papers (MSS 2014-17) include research subject files, restricted patient files, and personal correspondence. Also included are some of Dr. Gofman’s published works, such as The Family is the Patient: An Approach to Behavioral Pediatrics for the Clinician, which is considered a classic work in the field. Multimedia artifacts (such as lecture slides, teaching toys, and film reels) are also included. The Archives is proud to house this material and make it available to researchers.

Upcoming Lecture: Heightened Expectations

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Polina Ilieva

Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2016
Time: 12 pm – 1:15 pm
Lecturer: Aimee Medeiros, PhD (UCSF)
Location: Lange Room, 5th Floor, UCSF Library – Parnassus
530 Parnassus Ave, SF, CA 94143
This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: http://calendars.library.ucsf.edu/event/2544252

Join UCSF Archives & Special Collections for an afternoon talk with author Aimee Medeiros as she discusses her book Heightened Expectations: The Rise of the Human Growth Hormone Industry in America.

Heightened Expectations: The Rise of the Human Growth Hormone Industry in America

Heightened Expectations is a groundbreaking history that illuminates the foundations of the multibillion-dollar human growth hormone (HGH) industry. Drawing on medical and public health histories as well as on photography, film, music, prose, and other examples from popular culture, Aimee Medeiros tracks how the stigmatization of short stature in boys and growth hormone technology came together in the twentieth century. Historical materials from the UCSF Archives collection were used in the research for this book.

Aimee Medeiros, PhD

Aimee Medeiros is an assistant professor of the history of health sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.

About the UCSF Archives & Special Collections Lecture Series
UCSF Archives & Special Collections launched this lecture series to introduce a wider community to treasures and collections from its holdings, to provide an opportunity for researchers to discuss how they use this material, and to celebrate clinicians, scientists, and health care professionals who donated their papers to the archives.

Highlights from the Photograph Collection – Lost on the Shelf

Posted on May 3, 2016 by duhlich

You never know what you’re going to find in an archives office. While the idealized vision is probably a mirror-image of the storage vault, with its neat rows of gray manuscript boxes and acid-free record cartons, this is almost never the case. Any flat surface can become a not-so-temporary resting place for the odd accession or accrual, or the item that was removed from its collection for research or exhibit, but has yet to find its way back to its proper housing.

mss8518_ExploringHeartIllustrations

This photograph of an early 20^th-century surgical procedure was found a few weeks ago on top of one of our many filing cabinets. Who knows how it ended up there—or how long it had been waiting to be found again. Luckily, it carried a notation that it was from the Julius Comroe collection and the carton dedicated to illustrations for his book, Exploring the Heart. Looking at his notes, it is evident that Comroe had intended to use this photograph as the first illustration in his chapter on open heart surgery, but had later opted to use the Thomas Eakins painting, “The Agnew Clinic,” instead. Unfortunately there are no other notations or attributions on the photograph or its folder to tell us more about it, but at least this orphan work has found its way home—and we were given this opportunity to share it.

“The Agnew Clinic” by Thomas Eakins, courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania: http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/1800s/1889med/agnewclinic.html

New Collections on Calisphere

Posted on April 27, 2016 by David Krah

Earlier this year the California Digital Library revealed a revamped Calisphere site, offering improved access to and usability for thousands of digital items of historical significance contributed by institutions from across California. Alongside University of California partners such as UCSF, California State University Libraries, public libraries, museums and historical societies are making digital resources more discoverable than ever. The Calisphere site itself features excellent search and filter functions, and items can also be discovered through the Digital Public Library of America and even through Google searches.

UCSF is currently adding items and collections to the site, beginning with newly digitized items from the Eric Berne Papers, Lawrence Crooks Radiologic Imaging Laboratory Records and the UCSF Black Caucus Records. Other collections include the Japanese Woodblock Print Collection, the Tobacco Free Project (SF Department of Public Health Records), and selections from UCSF’s Photograph Collection. We’re also moving items over from our Omeka site so that all of UCSF’s digitized items can be accessed in one place.

The release of the new Calisphere site also coincides with the implementation of a new Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) connected to Calisphere, that with help from CDL, allows us to have an efficient workflow for managing, preserving and publishing digital items.

You can find UCSF’s collections through the “Contributing Institutions” link at the top of the page. Each collection features a gallery view with thumbnails of the items, with options to filter and sort search results and sets by an number of different facets including date, item type and collection number.

Calisphere’s new user-friendly features include clearly laid-out item information and a nice co-mingling of academic and social media functions to “Get Citation” “Tweet” and “Share on Facebook”. There are also helpful links back to the Contributing Institution page and Collection page and links to the finding aid on the Online Archive of California. The new design is very easily searchable, navigable and easy on the eyes.

We’ll have more items coming online in the next month or so keep an eye out. Take a look around the site, send us your feedback and enjoy!

UCSF Archives Coloring Book

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Kelsi Evans

We created a coloring book featuring illustrations from fifteenth to nineteenth-century rare books housed in the UCSF Archives and Special Collections. Coloring reduces stress, inspires creativity, and it’s just plain fun. You can scroll through a few of the images below and download the entire book for free here. Happy coloring!

We would love to see your finished creations. Tweet your pictures @ucsf_archives and use #ColorOurCollections.

Ketham, Joannes de. The Fasciculo di medicina, Venice. 1493. Find it at the UCSF Library: ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1121554~S0

Ketham, Joannes de. The Fasciculo di medicina, Venice, 1493. ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1121554~S0

Konrad, von Megenberg. Buch der Natur. 1482. Find it at the UCSF Library: ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1074494~S0

Konrad, von Megenberg. Buch der Natur, 1482. ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1074494~S0

Ryff, Walther Hermenuis. Omnium humani corporis partium… 1541. Find it at the UCSF Library: ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1063757~S0

Ryff, Walther Hermenuis. Omnium humani corporis partium…, 1541.
ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1063757~S0

Hortus Sanitatis. 1491. Find it at the UCSF Library: ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1015734~S0

Hortus Sanitatis, 1491. ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1015734~S0

Bartisch, Georg. Ophthalmodouleia. 1583. ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b2286634~S0

Download the complete UCSF Archives and Special Collections Coloring Book

Early MRI technology on display now at the UCSF Library

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Kelsi Evans

The UCSF Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit at the UCSF Library, Vision for the Future: Advancing MRI Technology at UCSF’s Radiologic Imaging Laboratory, 1975-2000. The exhibit explores the pivotal role UCSF researchers played in developing imaging technology that revolutionized patient care and transformed the way we see our bodies. View material from the Radiologic Imaging Laboratory records housed in the UCSF Archives, including research notebooks, MRI coil prototypes, rare photographs, and more.

Join us April 5th at 12 noon for the exhibit’s official opening. Archivists will be on hand to answer any of your questions!

MRI scale model and coil prototype on display.

The Radiologic Imaging Laboratory (RIL) was founded in the mid-1970s by a team of UCSF scientists and engineers. Their goal was to create a clinically viable diagnostic tool using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, later called MRI. Over the course of 25 years, the lab brought together venture capitalists, researchers, and clinicians to develop, evaluate, and market new imaging systems and instruments. The lab’s interdisciplinary approach and partnerships with private corporations, including Pfizer, Diasonics, and Toshiba, led to rapid innovation and numerous patents that continue to impact clinical care today.

Lab researchers and technicians Lawrence Crooks, Bob McCree, Ian Duff, and Roger Littlewood, circa 1981. Photograph collection.

RIL researchers and technicians Lawrence Crooks, Bob McCree, Ian Duff, and Roger Littlewood, circa 1981. Photograph collection.

The exhibit showcases just a fraction of the over 90 linear feet of engineering records, correspondence, and other material in the collection (call number MSS 2002-08). Through the generous support of RIL engineer, Dr. Lawrence E. Crooks, the UCSF Archives has processed the collection and created a detailed inventory available to researchers on the Online Archive of California. Archives staff have also made hundreds of documents and photographs from the collection available digitally on Calisphere, a public online portal.

MRI coil on display.

The exhibit is located on the main floor (3rd floor) of the UCSF Library, 530 Parnassus Ave. It is free and open to the public during Library hours, April 2016-April 2017.

New Interns in Archives

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Polina Ilieva

During the 2016 Spring semester the UCSF Archives & Special Collections is hosting two interns:

Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones is our first EXCEL program intern. The UC San Francisco Excellence through Community Engagement & Learning (EXCEL) Program is a clerical/administrative training program which aims to develop the potential workforce in UCSF’s surrounding communities and provide San Francisco residents with access to health-field related employment opportunities. It is a work-based program that uses both classroom and on-the-job training to prepare participants for career path jobs in the healthcare sector. In the past month Jessica who works in the Archives four days a week has successfully completed the State Medical Society Journals assessment and Cholera pamphlets cataloging projects. She is working on rehousing and creating detailed inventory for the Photo Portraits collection which will help preserve these photographs and facilitate their discovery. Jessica will help organize, rehouse and create inventories for newly acquired papers and also learn how to scan and create metadata for materials in diverse formats.

Here is what Jessica wrote for the blog: “I am a mother of two beautiful children ages 1 and 4. I am a San Francisco native and a current intern through the EXCEL Cycle 10 UCSF Medical Administrative Internship. After becoming a mother I realized what I was inspired and motivated by. I have many talents and desires but my main four passions in life are Children, Happiness, Self Love, and Fashion. Due to my natural spirit to connect and adapt with people so well I have a goal to become a professional as a Clinical Social Worker in Pediatrics. I am one step closer to my future by getting my foot in the door within my internship at UCSF. I plan to reach out and advocate for families that lack social and emotional support. I want to make a difference within children and actually give and instill in them extra love, support, and mentoring . Currently I am interning for the Archives and Special Collections, I plan to enrich my own knowledge and gain plenty experience to become an unparalleled asset. I also plan to look into the development of pediatrics department within UCSF. Finally, I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity. My dream is becoming a reality.”

Kristin Daniel

Kristin Daniel first became interested in library science when she was young; when her curiosity, more often than not, led her to find answers in books. The importance of information availability stayed with her throughout her schooling. Her passion was put on hold after she graduated high school in 1998, as economic necessities led her to a decade of service in the retail and hospitality industries. She got the opportunity to return to school and pursue her dream in 2008.

She graduated cum laude from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and is currently in her last semester of San Jose State University’s iSchool Masters in Library and Information Science program. Her coursework at SJSU reflects her interest in public librarianship with an emphasis in archives and preservation. Kristin is hopeful that she can serve her community’s information needs with the skills she can learn at her internship at UCSF: practical experience in cataloging, collection processing, and digitization. With so many people turning to digital means of finding information she is a firm proponent of a global library network.

Between being a stay-at-home-mom and a full time grad student, Kristin doesn’t have a lot of time for hobbies. When she can find a few moments to relax, however, she can usually be found reading sci-fi/fantasy novels, exploring San Francisco’s numerous events/attractions, and daydreaming about winning the lottery so she can build a craft studio. A lifelong California resident, Kristin currently resides in San Ramon with her husband and two-year-old son.

Kristin is continuing the project started by previous interns – organizing and creating an inventory of biographical files. She also helps with Quality Control of digital files for the State Medical Society Journals project.

Both Jessica and Kristin are assisting with the survey of the Archives and Special Collections manuscript and university records collections. The inventory and reorganization of these collections will greatly increase intellectual control, department efficiency, and user access.

We are grateful to our interns for their dedication and help!

Medical Quackery Series: Bloodletting

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Kelsi Evans

In this series, we’ll be exploring artifacts and other material from our collections related to medical misinformation and fraud. Step right up folks and learn how everything from bleedings to electricity can cure your ills!

Bloodletting as a medical practice has existed for thousands of years; ancient peoples, including the Greeks and Egyptians, used bloodletting to cure numerous conditions. The treatment, which involved draining blood with leeches or by puncturing the skin with a sharp instrument, was based on the theory of bodily humors. People believed that good health resulted from a balance of the four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. A person suffered illness when these humors became unbalanced. Bloodletting was devised as a way to correct harmful imbalances in the body.

"Old wooden barber pole. 1900." From the Graves (Roy D.) Pictorial Collection, ca. 1850-ca. 1968. Courtesy the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Accessed via Calisphere https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf1r29n9jj/

“Old wooden barber pole. 1900.” From the Graves (Roy D.) Pictorial Collection, ca. 1850-1968. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, accessed via Calisphere: https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf1r29n9jj

In Europe and the United States, surgeons and barbers offered bloodletting as a treatment for just about everything, from pneumonia to gout to cancer. Barbers so regularly performed bloodletting that they adopted a symbol to help advertise the service: the barber’s pole, a red and white striped pillar reminiscent of blood and bandages.

Leeches and a number of different instruments were used for bloodletting in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The lancet was one of the simplest tools; it consisted of a sharp, pointed blade attached to a straight handle. A variation of this was the fleam, a wide double-edged blade at a right angle to the handle. The folding fleam pictured here includes two blades encased in a brass shield.

Folding fleam. Artifact Collection, number 431.

A spring lancet was more mechanized. It included a spring trigger that snapped the blade into a vein. Spring lancets were, perhaps unsurprisingly, difficult to clean and often became rife with bacteria.

Spring lancet and case. Artifact Collection, number 416.

Spring lancet detail. Artifact Collection, number 416.

Detail of spring lancet. Artifact Collection, number 416.

Scarificators allowed for multiple cuts to be made at once. The octagonal or round base housed six to twenty blades that released from the bottom with the flick of a lever.

Scarificator. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Removing scarificator from original box. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Detail of scarificator with blades extended. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Blades of scarificator. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Bleeding bowls were often used to catch blood during the procedure. These came in different sizes and material, including brass, ceramic, and pewter.

Bleeding bowl. Artifact Collection, number 557.

Today, bloodletting is widely discredited as a medical treatment. However, phlebotomy therapy is used to treat certain conditions, including hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes abnormal iron accumulation. Leeches are making a comeback too; some reconstructive surgeons use them to restore circulation following procedures.

To view more bloodletting instruments, make an appointment with the UCSF Archives. You can also check out our exhibit on the third floor of the UCSF Library until April 2016. You’ll see a 19th-century spring lancet engraved to UC Medical College Dean Richard Beverly Cole from his mother!

Celebrating Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Polina Ilieva

A heart is a universal symbol of the Valentine’s Day. We would like to share with you a selection of heart illustrations from the UCSF Rare Book Collection.

lower Diagrams of the heart. Lower, Richard. Richardi Lower … Tractatus de corde : item de motu, colore, & transfusione sanguinis, et de chyli in eum transitu, ut et de venae sectione : his accedit Dissertatio de origine catarrhi .., 1728.

verheyen

Illustrations of the heart and lungs. Verheyen, Philip. Corporis humani anatomiae, 1710.

cabrol

Diagram of the heart. Cabrol, Barthelemy. Ontleedingh des menschelycken lichaems, 1633.

vesling

Illustrations of the heart and lungs. Vesling, Johann. Syntagma anatomicum, 1666.

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