Alton Meister, MD Papers

Collection

Identifier: US-NNCORMA-RGPPM-049

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Scope and Contents

This collection has been divided into seven series: Correspondence: Alpha Beta Files (1949-1994), Correspondence (1950-1994), Correspondence (1949-1994), Committees, (1962-1993) Grants (1955-1991), Lectures and Reprints (1945-1995), and Research. The files provide a small glimpse of his career. Most of the correspondences are with students, fellows, and colleagues. The reprints provide an overview of his research interests. Information on his personal life is not found in these papers.

Dates

1945 - 1995

Conditions Governing Access

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), internal policies requiring protection and confidential handling of PHI (protected health information), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), or other institutional polices regarding internal or confidential records, and may require additional permissions prior to access. Some records in this collection are restricted and require additional permissions prior to access. View the container inventory for more information and visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding access to historical materials containing restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials from this collection cannot be reproduced outside the guidelines of United States Fair Use (17 U.S.C., Section 107) without the advance permission of the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine or the copyright holder. In the event that anything from the collection become a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine is required.

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and internal policies which require protection and confidential handling of all protected health information (PHI). Materials containing PHI, personally identifiable information (PII), and/or student information (protected under FERPA) have been restricted and require additional permissions prior to reproduction and use.

Please visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding reproduction and use.

Biographical / Historical

Dr. Meister was born on June 1, 1922, in New York, NY. He received a BS from Harvard University in 1942 and a MD from Cornell University Medical College in 1945. After graduation, he completed one year of residency at New York Hospital. In 1947, he became a research investigator for the NIH and in 1951, the head of the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Biochemical Research Section. He left the NIH in 1955 to become the professor and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at Tuffs University, School of Medicine in Boston, MA. In 1967, he came to this medical center to chair our Department of Biochemistry. He was also appointed biochemist-in-chief of the medical center in 1971. He retired from Cornell in 1992, but continued as biochemist-in-chief until his death in 1995.

Dr. Meister was internationally known for his work with amino acids with special interest in gluathione, an amino acid compound. He received the American Chemical Society's Paul Lewis Award in Enzyme Chemistry in 1954. Later his work with gluathione led to a drug treatment for AIDS.

He died on April 6, 1995.

Extent

31.67 Linear Feet (28 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The materials were donated to the archives in 1995 by Dr. Alton Meister's office.

Related Materials

Some of the material that dealt with the Department of Biochemistry was pulled and cataloged into a separate collection.

Processing Information

This collection was processed and finding aid was written by Elizabeth Shepard in 2008. Minor modifications to the finding aid were made during migration to ArchivesSpace in 2024.