Opportunities for Graduate Study and Research in the Tropics

In 1946 (1) the final report of the Committee on the Teaching of Tropical Medicine of the Association of American Medical Colleges briefly outlined the future opportunities for study and research in the tropics. Meleney et al. stated that “No science can flourish or advance without opportunities for new discoveries.” One reason why tropical diseases have attracted so little interest in American medicine is that we have had little responsibility in the tropics, and too little exchange of ideas with medical scientists from tropical countries. In order to conserve the interest of those of us who have taught tropical medicine and parasitology during World War II and, in order to encourage the best talent to enter these fields, it is essential that opportunities be provided for medical personnel to study and conduct research in the tropics.This can best be accomplished by the establishment of research stations in tropical regions under friendly influence or control, and by a program of interchange of personnel between our universities and those of tropical countries.