Elmer D. Bueker, Ph.D., papers 1933-1995
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for the Sciences
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Descriptive Summary
Title: Elmer D. Bueker, Ph.D., Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1933-1995
Collection number: 437
Creator: Bueker, Elmer D.
1903-1996
Extent:
1 box (0.5 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections
for the Sciences
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: This small document collection outlines Dr. Bueker's
biography and academic life with a curriculum vitae, reprints of publications,
and material on faculty appointments and grants. Mainly, however, it focuses on
his view of the seminal importance that research he published in 1948 played in
the subsequent elucidation of nerve growth factor (NGF) by Dr. Rita
Levi-Montalcini, work for which she won the Nobel Prize. Included is
correspondence between Drs. Bueker, Levi-Montalcini, and Victor Hamburger,
transcript of a lengthy interview with Dr. Levi-Montalcini, published items
referring to the history of NGF research, and notes on the subject by Dr. Bueker
and his wife.
Physical location: Southern Regional Library Facility
(SRLF)
Language of Material: Collection materials in English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights in the physical objects belong to the UCLA Biomedical
Library. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and
their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission
to publish if the Biomedical Library does not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Elmer D. Bueker, Ph.D. Papers (Manuscript collection 437). Louise M.
Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Acquisition Information
The collection was given by Elizabeth A. Bueker (Mrs. Elmer D. Bueker) to the
UCLA Neuroscience History Archives in 1998, which subsequently transferred it to
the UCLA Biomedical Library.
Biography
Elmer D. Bueker (1903-1996) was born and educated in Missouri. After
receiving an M.A. in Biological Sciences from the University of Colorado he
taught high school Biology until 1942, while at the same time studying for a
doctorate at Washington University, St. Louis. He received the Ph.D. in Zoology
in 1942; his dissertation sponsor was Dr. Victor Hamburger. Dr. Bueker taught
Anatomy at South Carolina Medical College, Georgetown University, and University
of Missouri Medical School between 1943 and 1955. He moved to the Department of
Anatomy at New York University College of Dentistry from 1956 on. Upon
compulsory retirement in 1972 he continued as Adjunct Professor until 1978, and
as Emeritus Professor of Anatomy until 1985.
Scope and Content
The first five folders of the collection include biographical materials,
publications, academic appointments and grants. The papers in the remaining
eight folders focus almost entirely on the question of how the history of the
discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF) was, or should have been, told. Included
is correspondence regarding this question, published articles, news reports,
marginalia and comments by Dr. Bueker and his wife, and the draft of a lengthy
1988 interview by Omni magazine with Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini after she was
awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 for the discovery.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Bueker, Elmer D.,
1903- 1996 - Archives
Hamburger, Viktor,
1900-2001
Levi-Montalcini,
Rita
Nerve Growth Factor -
History
Nervous system - anatomy &
histology
Nobel Prize --Collected
Correspondence
Box 1, Folder 1
Portrait of Elmer D. Bueker.
circa 1955
Physical Description: 8x10 " photograph, 5x5" negative
Note
portrait taken for "The Savitar" (Univ. of Missouri, Columbia,
yearbook), the year he was voted "most popular teacher"
Box 1, Folder 2
Biological sketch/curriculum vitae.
1985
Scope and Content Note
covers biographical facts, professional positions, and bibliography with 53
entries, plus Dr. Bueker's comment on the pioneering significance of his 1948
publication on the identification of nerve growth factor
Box 1, Folder 3
Publications.
1933-1974
Scope and Content Note
reprints and photocopies of journal articles and abstracts
Box 1, Folder 4
Certificate and diploma.
1939, 1942
Scope and Content Note
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Maine, certificate for Marine
Invertebrate Zoology course, 1939; Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri,
Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology, 1942
Box 1, Folder 5
Academic appointments.
1939-1984
Scope and Content Note
Chicago, Medical School, Instructor, 1942; Medical College, State of South
Carolina, Assistant Professor, 1943-1947; Georgetown University, School of
Dentistry, Assistant and Associate Professor, 1947-1950; University of Missouri,
School of Medicine, Associate Professor, 1950-1955; New York University, College
of Dentistry, Associate Professor, Professor, Professor Emeritus, 1954-1984
Box 1, Folder 6
Research grant support.
1944-1961
Scope and Content Note
three reprints (1945-1950), one progress report (1961), and
correspondence
Box 1, Folder 7
"Discovery of nerve growth factor", by Elmer D. Bueker.
circa 1985
Scope and Content Note
eight-page typed manuscript, plus 19-item bibliography
Note
Dr. Bueker outlines his research into nerve growth factor and his
interaction with Victor Hamburger's laboratory (where Rita Levi-Montalcini was a
research associate). Dr. Bueker felt that his pioneering work in the field has
not been sufficiently credited
Box 1, Folder 8
Drafts of nerve growth factor-related materials.
undated
Scope and Content Note
hand-written pages of a lectures and notes about NGF
Box 1, Folder 9
Correspondence with Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini.
1950-1962
Scope and Content Note
exchange of letters which documents the shifting relationship of the authors
from collegial cooperation to disputation about priority
Box 1, Folder 10
Correspondence with Dr. Victor Hamburger.
1943-1981
Scope and Content Note
circa 40 letters, mostly between 1943 and 1954, with the majority originating
from Dr. Hamburger
Note
Hamburger had sponsored Bueker's dissertation work, and they kept in
touch over the years, exchanging information about their research. The
relationship remained cordial to the end
Box 1, Folder 11
Symposium on "Nerve Growth Factor and its Antiserum",
London.
1970-1971
Scope and Content Note
correspondence, program
Note
Dr. Bueker chaired one of the meeting sessions
Box 1, Folder 12
Materials regarding Dr. Bueker's work on NGF and Dr. Rita
Levi-Montalcini's Nobel Prize for NGF.
1972-1995
Scope and Content Note
lengthy transcript of 1987 interview with Dr. Levi-Montalcini for Omni
Magazine; published articles and news reports referencing Dr. Bueker's NGF work;
comments by Elizabeth Bueker, his wife
Box 1, Folder 13
Miscellaneous correspondence.
1943-1989
