Petrakis (Nicholas) Papers, 1952-1995

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Title:
Nicholas Petrakis papers
Dates:
1952-1995
Creators:
Petrakis, Nicholas
Abstract:
Materials documenting the professional activities of Nicholas Petrakis, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UCSF. The collection includes photographs, reprints, grant proposals, studies, and recognitions.
Extent:
4 Linear Feet (1 carton, 2 document boxes, 1 oversize box)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Nicholas Petrakis Papers, MSS 2008-03. Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection includes research files relating to breast cancer dating 1950s-1980s, Recognitions and awards from 1970s-1990s, and photographs, mostly from Petrakis' tenure as Chairman of the Department of Epidemiology and International Health, 1978-1989.

Biographical / historical:

Nicholas Petrakis (1922-2015), Professor Emeritus of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), completed his premeds at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. At the beginning of World War II, Petrakis had just begun his medical degree at the University of South Dakota. He joined the Navy and the Navy sent him to attend medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri through an accelerated program. In the late 1940s, he was assigned with the Navy Radiological Defense Unit at the Hunter's Point Naval Radiation Laboratory in San Francisco, prompting his move from the Midwest. In the 1950s, he began his medical career at UCSF as an investigator with the US Public Health Service at the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, a cancer-treatment program housed at the Laguna Honda Home, and supported by the National Cancer Institute. He moved to the Cancer Research Institute and what was then called the Department of Preventive Medicine at UCSF. In the early 1960s, he shifted the focus of his research to investigating causes and origins of cancer, specifically breast cancer. In 1974 he became chair of the Department of Epidemiology and International Health and director of the Hooper Foundation, a position he held until 1989. He retired from the department in 1992, but continued his research and publishing for another 15 years.

From https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/nicholas-petrakis-obituary?id=16442483

Acquisition information:
The provenance for the 2008 accession is unknown, additional materials were added to the collection by Susan Petrakis in 2019, and Brian Dolan in 2023.

Indexed terms

Names:
Petrakis, Nicholas

About this collection guide

Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-04-21 14:00:13 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. The UCSF Archives and Special Collections policy places access restrictions on material with privacy issues for a specific time period from the date of creation. Access to records that contain personal and confidential information about an individual or individuals is restricted for 75 years from date of creation or until the death of the individual mentioned in the records, whichever is longer. Access to medical records is restricted for 100 years from the latest date of the materials in those files. Restrictions are noted at the series level. This collection will be reviewed for sensitive content upon request. Contact the UCSF Archivist for information on access to these files.

Terms of access:

Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of the University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing, and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Nicholas Petrakis Papers, MSS 2008-03. Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.

Location of this collection:
UCSF Library & CKM Archives and Special Collections, 530 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94143-0840, US