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Fishman (Lillian W. and William H.) Papers
MSS 0676
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Table of contents
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Lillian W. and William H. Fishman Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0676
Physical Description:
23.5 Linear feet
(55 archives boxes, 4 oversize folders, 1 map case folder, 5 art bin items, and one film)
Date (inclusive): 1937-2006
Abstract: The Lillian W. and William H. Fishman Papers document the medical and research careers of two cancer scientists, William Fishman
and Lillian Fishman, who specialized in the oncodevelopmental biological approach to cancer. Included in the papers are files
on the establishment of the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, the research center founded by the Fishmans (renamed the
The Burnham Institute, now the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute); files on William Fishman's teaching and
cancer research at Tufts University; personal files; and correspondence with leading cancer scientists.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Lillian W. and William H. Fishman Papers document the medical and research careers of two cancer scientists, William Fishman
and Lillian Fishman, who specialized in the oncodevelopmental biological approach to cancer. Included in the papers are files
on the establishment of the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, the research center founded by the Fishmans (renamed the
The Burnham Institute, now the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute); files on William Fishman's teaching and
cancer research at Tufts University; personal files; and correspondence with leading cancer scientists.
Arranged in nine series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) LJCRF ADMINISTRATIVE FILES, 3) BURNHAM INSTITUTE, 4) WILLIAM AND LILLIAN FISHMAN,
5) TUFTS UNIVERSITY, 6) SUBJECT FILES, 7) NEWS ARTICLES, 8) PHOTOGRAPHS, and 9) FILMS.
William Fishman was born in Winnipeg, Canada, on March 2, 1914, and grew up in Manitoba on the Canadian prairies. He received
his degree with high honors in chemistry in 1935 from the University of Saskatchewan and was granted his Ph.D. in biochemistry
in 1939 from the University of Toronto. Before receiving his doctorate, Fishman published three sole author papers in the
Journal of Biological Chemistry.
In 1939, William Fishman married Lillian Waterman. Waterman was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on April 28, 1915. She entered
the University of Alberta in 1931, focused on a science degree in home economics with her real interest being in biochemistry.
Upon graduation, she was accepted as a graduate student at Columbia University, but instead stayed in Calgary. She was later
accepted by Montefiore Hospital, New York, in their dietitian training program, where she worked in the tuberculosis wards
and taught the nurses about nutrition.
William worked for Professor Marrian at the University of Toronto in 1938, at the time Marrian accepted a Professorship of
Medical Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. Marrian invited William to apply for a Research Fellowship of the Royal
Society of Canada, which he won. After their marriage, William and Lillian departed for Edinburgh, arriving in time to hear
that war had broken out in Europe. In 1940, the Fishmans decided to leave Britain after hearing of the German victories across
Europe. Back in the U.S., William found work with Dr. V. duVigneuad at Cornell University Medical College in New York City
and Lillian worked as a dietitian at New York Hospital.
As William's Royal Society of Canada Fellowship came to an end in 1941, a position at the Bowman-Gray School of Medicine
at Wake Forest opened up and William was hired. The Fishmans moved to the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, area and began work
under Professor Camillo Artom.
In 1945, William Fishman was hired by the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago. This opportunity allowed him
to study in a biochemical research environment which included scientists Tom Gallagher, E. Guzman Baron, Earl Evans, Konrad
Bloch, and Charles Huggins, who later received the Nobel Prize for his work on prostatic cancer.
In 1948, Tufts University sought to attract research oncologists to their faculty and Dr. Gallagher recommended William Fishman.
Fishman became the scientific director of the Tufts Cancer Research and Cancer Control Unit, studying tumor markers and doing
clinical trials, as well as holding a joint research professorship in the biochemistry department. In 1953, the laboratory
had devised a specific method for measuring the acid phosphatase of prostatic origin. The so-called Fishman-Lerner method
was highly regarded by urologists and oncologists in helping to solve problems in differential diagnosis. They also discovered
the Regan Isoenzyme-a placental alkaline phosphate-named after the cancer patient it was discovered in. In 1975, when reaching
retirement age, William Fishman decided it was time to move on from Tufts and find another scientific avenue.
After searching for an established institution, the Fishmans decided to create an new foundation whose sole function was
to support oncodevelopmental research. A visit to La Jolla, California, convinced the Fishmans the scientific environment
was right for a new research foundation, thus the beginning of the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation.
In 1976, the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation began operations in a leased renovated apartment building on South Coast
Blvd. in La Jolla. The foundation was first funded by a planning grant from the National Cancer Institute. In 1979, the foundation
moved to a space on Torrey Pines Mesa. The foundation received designation as a NCI Basic Science Cancer Research Center,
a credential which only two other California institutions shared-The Salk Institute and the California Institute of Technology.
William Fishman served as president of the foundation from 1976-1989 and then continued on as an emeritus member of the board
of trustees. In 1996, the foundation changed its name to The Burnham Institute and he continued to serve as president emeritus
and trustee until his death. In 1995, he published his own account of the founding of the Institute in the book "La Jolla
Cancer Research Foundation: The Miracle on Torrey Pines Mesa." Lillian Fishman served in many positions as the foundation
was starting and growing, then served as the public relations director. She founded and published the
LJCRF Newsletter and created the "Friends of LJCRF" which attracted community support.
William Fishman also started the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine in 1977 attracting scientists
devoted to this branch of cancer research, who had been meeting previously. William Fishman drafted bylaws which were approved
by the conference scientists. The La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation was designated as the North American headquarters of
the society.
Dr. William Fishman passed away on January 25, 2001, and is survived by his wife, Lillian, to whom he was married 61 years
and by a daughter and two sons.
Lillian W. and William H. Fishman Papers, MSS 676. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquired 2006.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Original media formats in Series 9) FILMS are restricted. Researchers may request user copies be produced.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Medicine -- California -- San Diego County -- History
Cancer -- Research -- San Diego County
Medical laboratories -- California
Medicine research -- California
La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute