Theodore Puck Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS C 648

Abstract

Theodore Puck (1916-2005) was an Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award winning geneticist who pioneered somatic cell genetics and founded the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Colorado Medical Center. Laboratory notebooks, manuscript drafts, correspondence, school notes, and photographs predominately document Puck’s professional life in this collection.

Dates

Creation: 1927-2004
Creation: Majority of material found within 1940 - 2000

Extent

10.42 Linear Feet (9 boxes)

Creator

Puck, Theodore T. (Theodore Thomas), 1916-2005 (Person)

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite.

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Copyright and Re-use Information

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Biographical Note

Theodore Thomas Puck (1916-2005) was born in Chicago, Illinois. He acquired his bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from the University of Chicago. He began his post-doctoral work at the University of Chicago, and in 1948, Puck was recruited to chair the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s department of biophysics, where he stayed until his retirement in 1995.

Puck’s early work was a pioneering effort that allowed the genetic cells of humans and other mammals to be multiplied (cloned) and studied in detail. His work led to the confirmation of Joe Hin Tijo’s research finding that humans have 46 chromosomes instead of the previously believed 48.

As the founding director of the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research, Puck’s genetic research evolved to include Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, and various cancers. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, most notably the 1958 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for development of original methods for pure culture of living mammalian cells as a basis for new research in their nutrition, growth, genetics, and mutation.

Collection Summary

Laboratory notebooks, manuscript drafts, correspondence, school notes, and photographs predominately document the professional life of scientist Theodore Puck (1916-2005). Biographic materials can be found in Series 1: Personal and Biographical, which includes a biographical sketch circa 1960 and a scrapbook of local newspaper clippings related to Puck and his work as a geneticist and cancer researcher.

Notably, the collection includes laboratory notebooks created by Puck and scientist Philip Marcus who worked on somatic cell genetics in the 1950s. Series 2: Laboratory notes contains such notebooks and includes other miscellaneous notes in the Lab notes subseries. The bulk of the lab notes are not titled and subsequently arranged chronologically.

Materials include some documentation of Puck’s work with the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research, but a more complete collection can be found at the University of Denver’s Special Collections and Archives. Puck’s other professional enterprises, including trips to Los Alamos and various lectures, can be found in Series 3: Professional Activities, which is arranged alphabetically.

Puck’s prolific contributions to the scientific community are documented in Series 4: Writings. Notes and drafts for various publications and book chapters comprise the bulk of the series, and there is a collection of reprints, some held in bound volumes. Series 5: Correspondence includes letters to Puck from colleagues related to his various professional activities. Notably, the collection includes correspondence and an interview conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission circa 1950.

Series 6: Photographs and Series 7: AV Materials document various conferences and laboratory work. Some of the AV materials are housed separate from the collection and include VHS videocassettes, audiocassettes, slides, and reels. Items are arranged alphabetically by type.