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COLLECTION Identifier: H MS c359

William A. Haseltine papers

Overview

The William A. Haseltine papers (1962-2008) are the product of Haseltine’s activities as a researcher, business executive, educator, lecturer, consultant, and contributing member of national and international organizations. Haseltine's main areas of research include cancer, HIV and AIDS, and genomics.

Dates

  • Creation: 1944-2008 (inclusive),
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1962-2008 .

Creator

Language of Materials

Papers are predominately in English, with some correspondence and publications in Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Conditions Governing Access

Access to the collection requires the permission of the donor, William A. Haseltine, for the duration of his lifetime. Researchers are advised to consult Public Services for further information about submitting a request to access the collection.

Once approved, researchers should note that access to certain corporate, organizational, and institutional records is restricted for 50 years from the date of record creation. These restrictions are noted where they appear in Series I-V, and VII. Access to personal and patient information is restricted for 80 years from the date of creation. These restrictions appear in Series I-VII. Researchers may apply for access to restricted records without additional donor approval.

Access to electronic records in this collection (as found in Series I, II, IV, and V) is also subject to the above restrictions. Additionally, access is premised on the availability of a computer station, requisite software, and/or the ability of Public Services staff to review and/or print out records of interest in advance of an on-site visit.

The Papers are stored offsite. Researchers are advised to consult Public Services for further information concerning retrieval of material.

Conditions Governing Use

The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all materials in the collection. Researchers are responsible for identifying and contacting any third-party copyright holders for permission to reproduce or publish. For more information on the Center's use, publication, and reproduction policies, view our Reproductions and Use Policy.

Extent

146.96 cubic feet ((171 records center cartons, 10 letter size document boxes, 1 half letter size document box, and 3 oversize flat storage boxes) )
04.16 gigabytes* (18 compact discs and 2 3.5 inch floppy disks)

The William A. Haseltine papers (1962-2008, bulk) are the product of Haseltine’s activities as a researcher, business executive, educator, lecturer, consultant, and contributing member of national and international organizations. The papers consist of seven series: Series I. Professional Records; Series II. Travel Files; Series III. Subject Files; Series IV. Personal Records; Series V. Writings and Publications; Series VI. Collected Reprints and Publications; and Series VII. Audiovisual Records.

Professional Records (Series I) comprise the bulk of the collection and consist of administrative and research records, meeting minutes, reports, subject files, personnel records, correspondence, presentations, and drafts produced by Haseltine and his colleagues at the various companies and organizations he was employed at or founded, including Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Cambridge BioScience Corporation. Travel records (Series II) contain lecture drafts, meeting programs, and correspondence from Haseltine’s amfAR meetings and conferences on AIDS research. Subject files (Series III) consist of articles, notes, newspaper clippings, and correspondence about Alzheimer’s disease, nanotechnology, stem cells, cancer, HIV, and AIDS. Personal records (Series IV) contain correspondence with friends and family, school notebooks, letters of recommendation, journals, and invitations to social events. The papers also include Haseltine’s manuscript drafts and reprints, collected reprints on HIV and AIDS, and videotapes and audiotapes from Human Genome Sciences and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute meetings (Series V, VI, and VII).

Papers are predominately in English. Some correspondence and publications are in Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Biographical Note

William Alan Haseltine (born 1944), B.A., 1966, University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D., 1973, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is Chairman and President of ACCESS Health International, Inc., Chairman of the Haseltine Foundation for Medical Sciences and the Arts, and formerly a Professor at Harvard Medical School (1988-1995) and Harvard School of Public Health (1989-1995), as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (1993-2004). Haseltine’s main areas of research include cancer, retroviruses such as HIV and AIDS, and genomics.

William Alan Haseltine was born on 17 October 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri to William R. Haseltine and Jean Adele Haseltine. He received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966 and earned a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1973. After graduating, Haseltine became a Postdoctoral Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Center for Cancer Research, Cambridge, where he was a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow from 1973 to 1975. While at MIT, Haseltine conducted research with Nobel laureates James Watson (born 1928), Walter Gilbert (born 1932), and David Baltimore (born 1938). Following the completion of his fellowship, Haseltine went on to hold various positions at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard Medical School (HMS), and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), including: HMS and DFCI Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, 1975 to 1979; HSPH Assistant Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, 1978 to 1979; HMS and DFCI Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, 1979 to 1988; HSPH Associate Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, 1979 to 1988; DFCI Professor, Division of Human Retrovirology, 1988 to 1995; HMS Professor, Department of Pathology, 1988 to 1995; and HSPH Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, 1989 to 1995. During his tenure at DFCI, Haseltine created and served as chair of two academic departments, the Division of Cancer Pharmacology and the Division of Human Retrovirology, a position he held from 1989 to 1993.

While at HMS, DFCI, and HSPH, Haseltine founded several companies including Cambridge BioScience Corporation (1981), Virus Research Institute (1990), and Activated Cell Therapy, Inc. (1992). In 1992, Haseltine took a leave of absence from his Boston positions to move to Maryland to form Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGS), a company that conducted research on therapeutics and diagnostics for human disease using human and microbial genes. Haseltine eventually resigned from his positions at HMS, DFCI, and HSPH to focus completely on HGS. Haseltine retired as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of HGS in 2004; he is currently the Chairman and President of ACCESS Health International, Inc., Chairman of the Haseltine Foundation for Medical Sciences and the Arts, and a consultant to various organizations.

Throughout the course of his career, Haseltine has authored over 200 articles and seventy books and monographs on HTLV-1, HIV, AIDS, cancer, and regenerative medicine. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Related Disorders from 1987 to 1999, Editor of Methods in Molecular and Cellular Biology from 1991 to 2002, and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Regenerative Medicine from 1999 to 2003. In addition to his editorial positions, Haseltine was a member of numerous professional organizations and scientific advisory boards, including the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR, now the Foundation for AIDS Research), AIDS Crisis Trust, the Brookings Institution, the Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Institute for OneWorld Health, New York Academy of Sciences, the National Health Museum, and the United States Chamber of Commerce. Haseltine has received many awards and honors recognizing his research and leadership, including being named by Time magazine as one of the twenty-five most influential business executives in 2001 and receiving KPMG LLP's High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1996. Haseltine was also awarded Honorary Doctorates of Science from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, and from the University of Maryland.

William Alan Haseltine has two children, Alexander and Mara, from his first marriage to Patricia Gercik. Haseltine was married to Gale Hayman from 1991 to 2005; he married Maria Eugenia Maury in August 2012.

Series and Subseries in the Collection

  1. I. Professional Records, 1978-2004, undated
  2. ___ A. Activated Cell Therapy, Inc. Records, 1992-1996, undated
  3. ___ B. Almar Scientific Corporation and Cambridge BioScience Corporation Records, 1980-1994, undated
  4. ___ C. The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) Records, 1982-1993, undated
  5. ___ D. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Records, 1983-1990
  6. ___E. Human Genome Sciences, Inc. Records, 1978-2004, undated
  7. ______ 1. General Administrative Records, 1988-2003, undated
  8. ______2. Correspondence, 1991-2004, undated
  9. _________ a. Chronological, 1992-2000, undated
  10. _________ b. Alphabetical, 1991-2004
  11. ______ 3. Corporate Reporting and Presentations, 1985-2004, undated
  12. ______ 4. Database and Material Transfer Agreements Records, 1994-1998
  13. ______ 5. SmithKline Beecham Records, 1991-2001, undated
  14. ______ 6. Research Files, 1992-2000, undated
  15. ______7. Subject Files and Associated Records, 1978-2004, undated
  16. _________ a. Alphabetical, 1978-1998, undated
  17. _________ b. Alphabetical, 1984-2004, undated
  18. _________ c. Alphabetical, 1981-2004, undated
  19. ______ 8. Clippings, 1983-2004, undated
  20. ______ 9. Industrial Genome Sciences, Inc. Records, 1992-1995, undated
  21. ______ 10. Plant Genome Sciences, Inc, Records, 1991-1994, undated
  22. ___ F. Virus Research Institute Records, 1988-1996, undated
  23. II. Travel Files, circa 1970-2006, undated
  24. ___ A. Chronological Files, circa 1970-2006, undated
  25. ___ B. Declined and Cancelled Meeting Records, 1989-1993, 2000, 2005, undated
  26. ___ C. Lectures and Speeches, 1985-1994, undated
  27. III. Subject Files, 1966-2005, undated
  28. ___ A. Microverse, 1967, 1976-2004, undated
  29. ___ B. Regenerative Medicine, 1969, 1983-2004, undated
  30. ___ C. HIV/AIDS, 1966-2004, undated
  31. ___ D. Alphabetical Subject Files, 1968-1970, 1988-2005, undated
  32. IV. Personal Records, circa 1944, 1962-2007, undated
  33. ___A. Correspondence, 1962, 1967, 1975-2007, undated
  34. ______ 1. Chronological, 1981-1992
  35. ______ 2. Alphabetical, 1978, 1988-1992
  36. ______ 3. Alphabetical Incoming, 1962, 1982-2001
  37. ______ 4. Alphabetical Outgoing, 1992-2001
  38. ______ 5. Alphabetical by Correspondent, 1975-2005, undated
  39. ______ 6. Subject Correspondence, 1981-2007, undated
  40. ______ 7. Alphabetical Correspondence Related to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 1967, 1977-1993, undated
  41. ___B. Haseltine Global Health and Idea Files, 1992-2007, undated
  42. ______ 1. Non-Profit Organizations, 1992-2005, undated
  43. ______ 2. Businesses, 1995-2006, undated
  44. ______ 3. Alphabetical Idea Files, 1993-2007, undated
  45. ___C. Theses and Manuscript and Article Reviews, circa 1970-1994, undated
  46. ______ 1. Theses, circa 1970-1992
  47. ______ 2. Manuscript and Article Reviews, 1984-1994, undated
  48. ___ D. Publicity Files, 1986-2005
  49. ___ E. Academic Research Notebooks, 1967-1982, 1987-1988, undated
  50. ___ F. Social Engagements Records, circa 1944, 1992-2007, undated
  51. ___ G. Journals, 1983-1995
  52. V. Writings and Publications, 1966-2003, undated
  53. ___ A. "a" manuscripts, 1972-1993, undated
  54. ___ B. "b" manuscripts, 1974-1993, undated
  55. ___ C. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Related Writings, circa 1980s-1992, undated
  56. ___ D. Alphabetical Writings, 1966-1976, 1986-2003, undated
  57. VI. Collected Reprints and Publications, 1968-2008, undated
  58. VII. Audiovisual Records, circa 1970-2004, undated
  59. ___ A. Audiotapes, circa 1987-1999
  60. ___ B. Videotapes, circa 1988-2004, undated
  61. ___ C. Photographs, Negatives, and Transparencies, circa 1970-2003, undated

Immediate Source of Acquisition

  1. Accession number 2011-023. Donated by William A. Haseltine. 2011 April 11.

Existence and Location of Copies

The William A. Haseltine papers have been digitized in their entirety. Researchers are required to use digitized versions of records unless there is a demonstrated need to work with the originals.

Processing Information

Processed by Meghan M. Bannon.

Processing staff in the Center for the History of Medicine analyzed, arranged, and described the papers, and created a finding aid to improve access. Items were removed from three ring binders and, where necessary, photocopied to acid-free paper. Processing staff discarded duplicate records and records that did not meet the collection policy of the Center for the History of Medicine. Folder titles were transcribed from the originals when available; titles supplied by the processing staff appear in brackets only on the physical folders. Files on 3.5 inch floppy disks and compact discs (as found in Series I, II, IV, and V) were copied to secure storage. Files that could be opened were sampled for content, however, researchers should be aware that not every file in the collection was (or could be) opened and assessed. Files for which specific software was needed, but not available to staff at the time of processing, were not reviewed. Files on 5.25 inch floppy disks will be copied to secure storage in late 2013. Regardless of copy status, all original media have been retained.

Title
Haseltine, William A. Papers, circa 1944-2008 (inclusive), 1962-2008 (bulk): Finding Aid.
Author
Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine.
Language of description
und
Sponsor
Processing of the William A. Haseltine papers was funded by William A. Haseltine.
EAD ID
med00190

Repository Details

Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository

The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.

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