[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 148 (Wednesday, November 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 RETIREMENT OF DR. LAWRENCE E. SHULMAN

 Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, in an era where the public is 
taking a critical look at government, I want to bring to the attention 
of the Senate, and to the American people, one individual who has 
served the public with distinction for many years. As many know, I have 
a keen interest in the medical research programs of the National 
Institutes of Health. The Director of one of the NIH Institutes, Dr. 
Lawrence E. Shulman, of the National Institute of Arthritis and 
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases [NIAMS], retired this past fall. Dr. 
Shulman directed the NIAMS since its inception in April 1986 and became 
the Institute's first Director Emeritus on November 1 of this year. Dr. 
Shulman's leadership has been exemplary and this position of 
distinction at the NIH is well deserved.
  During his tenure as NIAMS Director, Dr. Shulman successfully guided 
the development of the institute through its formative years. He played 
a pivotal role in facilitating the growth of both the intramural and 
extramural research activities of the Institute by developing new 
programs, encouraging innovation, and seizing scientific opportunities. 
He also convened 150 of the country's leading scientists to develop a 
comprehensive national plan for the Institute.
  In the intramural area, Dr. Shulman organized plans, as requested by 
Congress, for future program development and expansion. He convened a 
high-level external advisory group that recommended new laboratories 
and clinical research programs. Under his leadership, two renowned 
laboratories--in structural biology and in skin diseases research--have 
been added. Also established were a model sabbatical program for 
outside researchers, a collaborative research training program with 
Howard University, and a training program in pediatric rheumatology 
with Children's National Medical Center.
  NIAMS-supported extramural researchers have made significant progress 
and major discoveries have occurred in numerous areas of research 
related to the joints, bones, muscles, skin and connective tissues and 
their disorders. In addition, under Dr. Shulman's leadership, the 
Institute has launched a series of research initiatives to build on 
recent advances, focusing on basic biology, pathogenetic mechanisms of 
disease, clinical investigation, epidemiology, and prevention research 
in these important areas.
  A strong supporter of investigations related to both women's health 
and minorities' health, Dr. Shulman has given high priority to research 
focused on diseases such as osteoporosis, lupus erythematosus, 
rheumatoid arthritis, and scleroderma. At the same time, he has seen to 
it that all of the diseases within the broad and diverse mandate of the 
Institute have been addressed, and has endeavored to bring many of the 
more costly and prevalent of these diseases to the forefront of the 
Nation's research agenda. He has mounted impressive initiatives for 
tragic rare--orphan--diseases, such as epidermolysis bullosa and 
osteogenesis imperfecta. Epidemiology has also been a priority, with 
NIAMS leading national data groups on arthritis, osteoporosis, and skin 
diseases and setting up research registries for several rare diseases.
  Collaboration has been a cardinal feature during Dr. Shulman's 
tenure. He fostered coordination among Federal agencies through his 
chairmanship of three interagency groups in skin diseases, arthritis 
and musculoskeletal diseases, and bone diseases. He worked closely with 
the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research to set up key 
consensus development conferences on ultraviolet light and the skin, 
optimal calcium intake, and total hip replacement. Dr. Shulman gained 
cooperation between NIAMS and the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration through a joint scientific workshop and later a 
Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on studies of bone loss and 
muscle atrophy both on earth and in space. He also played an active 
role in several international collaborations with Russia, Italy, 
Germany, the Caribbean nations, and other countries. Dr. Shulman's 
commitment to cooperation also can be seen in the activities of the 
Task Force on Lupus in High Risk Populations, generating effective 
education programs for young African-American women.

  Dr. Shulman's career at the NIH began in 1976 when he was appointed 
the first NIH Associate Director for Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and 
Skin Diseases for what was then the National Institute of Arthritis, 
Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases. As such, he created and implemented 
the programs recommended by the National Arthritis Act and the 
Arthritis plan, which was presented to Congress in 1976 by the National 
Commission on Arthritis and Related Musculoskeletal Diseases. In 1983, 
he was named Director of the Division of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and 
Skin Diseases of the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and 
Digestive and Kidney Diseases, where he served until the establishment 
of NIAMS in 1986.
  Throughout his career, Dr. Shulman has maintained his association 
with the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions where he completed his 
internship, residency, and research fellowship in internal medicine and 
endocrinology. He then joined the full-time medical school faculty 
there, becoming the first director of the Connective Tissue--
Rheumatology--Division, whose growth and development he led over the 
next 20 years before coming to the NIH. Dr. Shulman has been a greatly 
admired mentor and teacher of many of the Nation's leading rheumatology 
investigators here and abroad.
  An internationally recognized medical leader, Dr. Shulman has himself 
made many major contributions to biomedical research, particularly in 
the areas of systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and other 
connective tissue diseases. Among his notable achievements was the 
discovery of eosinophilic fasciitis, also known as Shulman's disease. 
In 1975, Dr. Shulman was awarded the Heberden Medal for Research in the 
Rheumatic Diseases in London. He has also been a leader in many 
professional organizations, serving in 1974-75 as president of the 
American Rheumatism Association, now the American College of 
Rheumatology, and as president of the Pan-American League Against 
Rheumatism from 1982 to 1986.
  Dr. Shulman has been the recipient of many honors and awards during 
his distinguished career, including a 1992 award for leadership in 
promoting orthopaedic research from the American Academy of Orthopaedic 
Surgeons, a 1993 Presidential citation for leadership in biomedical 
research from the American Academy of Dermatology, a 1994 Lupus 
Foundation of America Award for dedicated leadership and service on 
behalf of people with lupus, and a 1994 award from the American Society 
for Bone and Mineral Research for his outstanding support of research 
in the field of bone and mineral metabolism. Dr. Shulman has chaired 
scientific groups of the World Health Organization in connective tissue 
diseases, rheumatic diseases, and osteoporosis. He has also been 
elected to honorary membership by numerous societies around the world.
  In conferring the new title of Director Emeritus on Dr. Shulman, Dr. 
Harold Varmus, Director of the NIH, said ``the Emeritus designation is 
a high honor accorded those few selected individuals who have 
distinguished themselves during their careers at the National 
Institutes of Health.''
  Mr. President, I want to thank the Society for Investigative 
Dermatology for their assistance in developing the background for this 
statement.

 NOTICE OF DETERMINATION BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ETHICS UNDER RULE 
             35, PARAGRAPH 4, REGARDING EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL

 Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, it is required by paragraph 4 of 
rule 35 that I place in the Congressional Record notices of Senate 
employees who participate in programs, the principal objective of which 
is educational, sponsored by a foreign government or a foreign 
educational or charitable organization involving travel to a foreign 
country paid for by that foreign government or organization.
  The select committee received notification under rule 35 for Lee E. 
Arrowood, a member of the staff of Senator Wallop, to participate in a 
program, sponsored by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, to be held 
in Austria from December 10-17, 1994.
  The committee determined that no Federal statute or Senate rule would 
prohibit participation by Ms. Arrowood in this program.
  The select committee received notification under rule 35 for Bobby 
Franklin, a member of the staff of Senator Pryor, to participate in a 
program in Chile, sponsored by the Chilean-American Chamber of 
Commerce, and the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin 
America.
  The committee determined that no Federal statute or Senate rule would 
prohibit participation by Mr. Franklin in this program.
  The select committee received notification under rule 35 for James 
Lee Price, a member of the staff of Mr. Mfume's Joint Economic 
Committee, to participate in a program in Denmark sponsored by the 
Danish Government and the U.S. Government.
  The committee determined that no Federal statute or Senate rule would 
prohibit participation by Mr. Price in this program.
  The select committee received notification under rule 35 for Charles 
H. Riemenschneider, a member of the staff of Senator Leahy, to 
participate in a program in Rome, sponsored by the Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations.
  The committee determined that no Federal statute or Senate rule would 
prohibit participation by Mr. Riemenschneider in this program.

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