Biologics Regulation and ResearchThe People and Work of Buildings 29 & 29A

From 1943 until her retirement in 1971, Dr. Margaret Pittman worked to assess the efficacy of and establish national and international standards for the production of the cholera vaccine.

There was an epidemic of cholera in Thailand in May 1958, and the World Health Organization, and Philippine and American officials sent vaccines and other aid to Thailand. The King and Queen of Thailand, Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, were invited to attend the dedication ceremony of NIH Building 29, the newly built home of the Divisions of Biologics Standards (DBS), in June 1960 because of his majesty’s active role in the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) Cholera Research Project. The SEATO Cholera Research Project formed in the wake of the epidemic.

*Add video produced by Byron Motion Pictures around 1946 of the U.S. Navy in Calcutta, India to do a controlled experiment using chemotherapy against cholera. Video can be found at https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-9300033A-vid.