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Guide to the Frederick L. Dunn Papers, 1930-2005, bulk 1950-1980
MSS.2011.10
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Table of contents
Title: Frederick L. Dunn papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2011.10
Contributing Institution:
University of California, San Francisco
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
14.6 Linear feet
(35 boxes)
Date (bulk): 1950-1980
Date (inclusive): 1930-2005, undated
Abstract: The papers of noted medical professor and researcher Frederick L. Dunn document his career as a professor, medical doctor,
and anthropologist, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950-1980. Dunn is a scholar-practitioner who was instrumental
in the development of the fields of international health and anthropology in public health, formerly known as "tropical medicine,"
and his work has left lasting impressions on how it is continued to be practiced. The majority of Dunn's professional activities
documented here were in association with the University of California, San Francisco as a staff member for over 30 years and
the field research he completed in Southeast Asia relating to infectious disease.
Creator:
Frederick L. Dunn
The collection is arranged as 2 series. Series I: Work and Research Files, 1930-2005 (11.3 linear feet) Series II: Publications
and Writings, 1950s-2000s (3.3 linear feet)
Frederick L. Dunn (b. 1928) was a pioneer scholar-physician in the field of international health and anthropology in public
health, formerly known as "tropical medicine,” who worked primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Southeast Asia. His
research spans issues of global health, behavioral research, medical anthropology, epidemiology, and infectious disease. Dunn
advocated an interdisciplinary approach that has altered the course of research in global health. He was instrumental in identifying
and promoting the importance of human behavioral research in understanding infectious disease. Dunn’s theory of 'casual assemblages'
takes into account the social, political, cultural, and economic factors in the spread of communicable diseases within populations.
Dunn worked closely with the World Health Organization throughout his career, beginning in the 1960s. He served as a physician-anthropologist
consultant for the organization and was involved with identifying research and training needs in tropical disease. His research
has been widely published from the 1950s-1990s.
Frederick L. Dunn was born in 1928 into a family well acquainted with sciences. His father was a well-known psychiatrist and
his extended family included other physicians and scientists. Dunn attended Harvard University as an undergraduate anthropology
major and returned to begin Harvard Medical School in 1952. As a medical student in 1955, he participated in the American
Himalayan Expedition in Pakistan as the team physician. This expedition marked Dunn’s first experience with communicable disease
among the local population in a developing country.
Following medical school graduation, Dunn completed postgraduate clinical training in Seattle through a program associated
with the University of Washington. He then began a two year service in the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence
Service (EIS), beginning in 1957, in Louisiana and East Pakistan.
In 1960, Dunn enrolled in a course at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and received the Diploma in Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene. Through the course Dunn met J. Ralph Audy from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) who
proceeded to recruit Dunn for UCSF. Dunn officially joined the Department of Medicine faculty in September of 1960 and began
working in Audy’s tropical disease laboratory.
In 1962, Dunn traveled to Malaysia to work in the International Center for Medical Research and Training (ICMRT) program.
During the 1960s and 1970s Dunn spent over a total of seven years living, working, and researching infectious disease in Malaysia.
His research included primate malaria, parasitic diseases among indigenous groups, and the group Orang Asli in particular.
Dunn helped to form the country’s first medical anthropology program—a joint initiative between UCSF and University of California,
Berkeley—in 1969.
In 1973 Dunn completed his doctoral dissertation in anthropology at the University of Malaya. Dunn formally retired in 1993
at which point he had been serving as a faculty member in the UCSF-UCB joint medical anthropology program.
The papers of global health physician-researcher Frederick L. Dunn date from 1930-2005, with the bulk of the materials dating
from 1950-1980. The collection documents his professional life, including teaching, field research, published research, and
involvement in the global health community on the topics of tropical medicine, medical anthropology, epidemiology, and infectious
disease. The papers are comprised of published articles, newsletters, drafts, research data and notes, correspondence, and
photographs.
The work and research files of Series I relate to the gamut of Dunn's professional activities. The majority of the material
relates to his teaching career, field research, and involvement with the global health community. Material documents his professional
relationships with the University of California, San Francisco, World Health Organization, and International Center for Medical
Research and Training, among others. Dunn's research was largely focused on Southeast Asia.
Among the publications and writings in Series II are published articles and material created in support of his publications
such as related drafts, notes, and correspondence.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Library & Center for Knowledge Management. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the UCSF Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of
the Library & Center for Knowledge Management as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Donated to the UCSF Archives and Special Collections by Frederick Dunn in 2012.
Frederick L. Dunn papers, 1930-2005, MSS 2011-10. Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research.
The collection was rehoused by the UCSF Archives staff upon receipt in 2012. The collection was processed, arranged, and described
by Margaret Hughes in 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frederick L. Dunn
World Health Organization.
Color negatives
Color photographs
Correspondence
Data
Epidemiology
Field notes
Infection
Malaysia
Medical anthropology
Public health
Publications
Social scientists
Southeast Asia
University of California, San Francisco
World health