[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 144 (Thursday, September 11, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1775-E1776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. ICHIJI TASAKI

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 11, 2008

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
outstanding achievements of my constituent Dr. Ichiji Tasaki. Dr. 
Tasaki has worked at the National Institutes of Health for 54 years, 
since November 1953, and has made invaluable contributions to the 
scientific community.
  Dr. Tasaki was born in Japan in 1910 and attended medical school at 
Keio University Medical School. Upon earning his medical degree, Dr. 
Tasaki began a career in research. After completing a Rockefeller 
Fellowship in Switzerland and England, Dr. Tasaki immigrated to the 
United States in 1951, where he began work at the Central Institute for 
the Deaf in St. Louis, Missouri, helping to develop the field of 
audiology, which serves as a foundation for diagnosing and treating 
numerous hearing disorders.
  Dr. Tasaki began his career at the National Institutes of Health as a 
Section Chief in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and 
Blindness. He went on to become a Laboratory Chief and later a Senior 
Research Scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health, where he 
remained for twenty-two years. Most recently, Dr. Tasaki was associated 
with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

[[Page E1776]]

  Dr. Tasaki has made countless contributions to scientific 
understanding. He is well known for discovering the insulating function 
of the myelin sheath, the salutatory feature of nerve conduction, and 
the rapid swelling of nerve fibers in association with their 
excitation. He also developed an important method of intracellular 
perfusion and the new method of detecting heat production associated 
with nerve excitation. Dr. Tasaki's work is referred to in biology 
textbooks, and he is recognized as the most senior author of 
``Scholarpedia.''
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to commend Dr. Ichiji Tasaki for his 
significant contributions to scientific understanding. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in applauding the advances he has made to improve 
the quality of life throughout the world.

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