On May 6, 1975 the Branch lost one of its most prominent members, Dr. Stuart Mudd, Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, who died in his home in Haverford. Dr. Mudd was a former president of the ASM as well as a former Branch president. A memorial service was held at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia on May 30, 1975. The service was attended by his wife, Dr. Emily Mudd, family members, friends, former students and his colleagues from home and abroad. Branch member Dr. Joseph Gots, Professor and Acting Chairman of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, spoke at this service. The official Branch representative was Dr. Richard Crowell, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology of Hahnemann Medical College and President of the Eastern Pennsylvania Branch. He announced that the Branch had decided to establish an Annual Stuart Mudd Memorial Lectureship. He stated that, “As a former president of our Branch, a distinguished microbiologist and a truly fine person, we trust that this memorial will serve to pay tribute to Dr. Stuart Mudd, who was a great inspiration to us all.”

(Photo: Drs. Stuart Mudd and Earl Flosdorf with their lyophilizer, a device for freeze drying blood plasma, circa 1935. Mudd and Flosdorf developed aseptic freeze drying techniques to preserve blood plasma, making it possible to give wounded soldiers on World War II battlefields blood transfusions through the use of dried plasma. Freeze drying, a practical invention for several industries, significantly impacted the clinical microbiology laboratory. The lyophilizer made it easier to preserve and disseminate bacterial strains for diagnostic and research purposes. Mudd began his Penn career on the Pathology faculty, then chaired the Department of Bacteriology (Microbiology) from 1931 to 1959. (University of Pennsylvania Archives)

The Stuart Mudd lecture became an established Branch tradition each spring. A committee was formed and charged with selecting a speaker who was either a former student, a colleague or someone who made significant contributions to work initiated by Dr. Mudd. These annual lectures became both a scientific and social highlight of the year for the Branch. Mrs. Mudd was usually in attendance accompanied by different family members. The Branch made certain that Mrs. Mudd was provided with an orchid corsage that was selected each year by Dr. Robert Mandle of Thomas Jefferson University. A formal brochure was produced each year and all speakers were awarded a plaque containing an engraved photograph of Dr. Mudd. This was followed by a special dinner which was always well attended.

Although the meetings were always a success, as the years progressed, the choice of lecturers had a natural evolution form an emphasis on former students to colleagues to speakers relating to Dr. Mudd’s research. It was decided that the supply of top caliber candidates available for this lectureship, that met the strict criteria that had been established by the selection committee, was becoming exhausted and that it was time to begin a new tradition that would recognize other prominent Branch members who made significant contributions to the Branch which Dr. Mudd had so enthusiastically supported. Therefore, the last Stuart Mudd Lecture was held on April 24, 1995 and the following year the Distinguished Branch Lectureship was initiated.

The Branch Archives has a rich collection of material relating to this lecture series. The Stuart Mudd Lecture collection demonstrates how important Dr. Mudd was to this Branch and how many of his students and colleagues carried on his work.

The 20 selected speakers and their topics follow:

1976 LIPID SPECIFIC EXOTOXINS
Alan W. Bernheimer, Ph.D.

1977 AUSTRALIA ANTIGEN AND THE BIOLOGY OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS
Baruch A. Blumberg, M.D., Ph.D.

1978 DIPHTHERIA: REFLECTIONS ON THE EVOLUTION OF AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Alwin M. Pappenheimer, Jr., Ph.D.

1979 BACTERIAL GENETICS AND DISEASE: THE PLASMID CONNECTION
Joseph S. Gots, Ph.D.

1980 ELECTRON MICROSOPY THEN AND NOW: FORTY YEARS OF RESEARCH ON THE STRUCTURE OF MICROORGANISMS
Thomas Foxen Anderson, Ph.D.

1981 NEW APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF RABIES VACCINE
Hilary Koprowski, M.D. — He was unable to give the lecture in person

1982 THE GENETICS OF AUTOIMMUNE THYROIDITIS
Noel Rose, Ph.D., M.D.

1983 STRUCTURE FUNCTION RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BACTERIAL CHROMOSOME AND CELL MEMBRANE
Moselio Schaechter, Ph.D.

1984 TRACKING ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENS WITH BACTERIA
Philip E. Hartman, Ph.D.

1985 CELL BIOLOGY OF HUMAN AGING
Leonard Hayflick, Ph.D.

1986 HOST CONTROL OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS IN FOCAL LESIONS
Frank A. Kapral, Ph.D.

1987 AN UNUSUAL LIFE CYCLE OF A LARGE DNA VIRUS
Allan Granoff, Ph.D.

1988 EPITOPE HUNTING IN THE CHOLERA/COLI ENTEROTOXIN FOREST
Richard Finklestein, Ph.D.

1989 PROTECTIVE AND AUTOIMMUNE EPITOPES OF STREPTOCOCCUS-M PROTEINS
Edwin H. Beachey, M.D.

1990 SALMONELLA: UNDERSTANDING PATHOGENICITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF VACCINE STRATEGIES
Roy Curtiss III, Ph.D.

1991 THE SWITCH BETWEEN EBV LATENCY AND REPLICATION
I. George Miller, Jr., M.D.

1992 IMPLICATIONS OF MYCOPLASMA INFECTION IN AIDS PROGRESSION
Joel Baseman, Ph.D.

1993 PATHOGENICITY OF ENTEROHEMORRHAGIC E. COLI (THE CAUSE OF THE JACK-IN-THE-BOX OUTBREAK)
Alison D. O’Brien, Ph.D.

1994 THE STRUCTURES AND FUNCTION OF GONOCOCCAL IRON UTILIZATION RECEPTORS
Philip Frederick Sparling, M.D.

1995 REGULATION OF VIRULENCE BY CELL TO CELL COMMUNICATION — A LANGUAGE THAT HURTS
Barbara Hotham Iglewski, Ph.D.

Prepared by:
James A. Poupard, Ph.D.
Archives Committee
February 16, 2008