Itano (Harvey) Personal Correspondence and Memorabilia, 1937 - 2010 (bulk 1941-1945)

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Summary

Title:
Harvey Itano Personal Correspondence and Memorabilia
Dates:
1937 - 2010 (bulk 1941-1945)
Creators:
Itano, Harvey A.
Abstract:
Personal papers and memorabilia of Harvey Itano, American biochemist and pioneer in the study of sickle cell anemia hematology. During World War II, Itano, along with his parents and siblings were sent to an internment camp; of particular interest in the collection are letters written to and from Itano during his internment.
Extent:
2.8 Linear feet (3 archives boxes, 1 records carton, 1 card file, 3 oversize folders and 1 art bin item)
Language:
Preferred citation:

Harvey Itano Personal Correspondence and Memorabilia, MSS 755. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Background

Scope and content:

Personal papers and memorabilia of Harvey Itano, American biochemist and pioneer in the study of sickle cell anemia hematology. During World War II, Itano, along with his parents and siblings were sent to an internment camp; of particular interest in the collection are letters written to and from Itano during his internment.

Arranged in three series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) MEMORABILIA, and 3) REALIA.

Biographical / historical:

Harvey Akio Itano was born on November 3, 1920, in Sacramento, California, the eldest son of Masao and Sumako (Nakahara) Itano. Itano attended University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 1942 with highest honors in chemistry. Due to President Roosevelt's anti-Japanese campaign following Pearl Harbor, Itano with his family was sent to the desolate Tule Lake camp. While in the camp, Itano kept applying to medical schools throughout the country. With assistance from the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council, Itano was released from the camp to attend St. Louis School of Medicine. In 1945, Itano received his M.D. and continued Ph.D. studies at the California Institute of Technology in biochemistry where he studied and worked with Linus Pauling.

Itano is known for his pioneering work with sickle cell anemia disease, the topic assigned to him as a Ph.D. thesis topic by Linus Pauling. Sickle cell anemia disease is a hereditary disease commonly found among people of African descent. Itano tried several different physical and chemical methods to distinguish normal hemoglobin from sickle cell hemoglobin and finally he was able to demonstrate the difference by using electrophoresis. At that time, electrophoresis was a new technique that allowed researchers to separate molecules according to their electrical charge and Itano found a slight difference in electrophoretic mobility between normal and sickle cell hemoglobins. That led to understanding that patients with sickle cell anemia have a different type of hemoglobin than healthy individuals and thus a cause of a disease was traced to a molecule. Later, this inspired Vernon Ingram's seminal discovery of a single amino acid difference between normal and sickle cell hemoglobin and allowed him to explain a hemoglobin abnormality by an alteration in genes. After completing the project, Itano continued to work in the field of molecular medicine and published extensively about genetic and molecular basis of other blood pathologies and hereditary diseases.

Itano was awarded Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry (1954) and Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Achievement Award (1972) for his pioneering work on sickle cell anemia disease. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1979), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1998), American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biochemistry Society (London), Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Alpha Omega Alpha.

Itano passed away in La Jolla, California in 2010.

Acquisition information:
Acquired 2013.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Special Collections Archives
Date Prepared:
Copyright 2013
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2016-01-19T10:49-0800

Access and use

Terms of access:

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

Preferred citation:

Harvey Itano Personal Correspondence and Memorabilia, MSS 755. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Location of this collection:
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175
La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
Contact:
(858) 534-2533
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Website