Ground breaking ceremonies' Monday marked the start of construction of a $1,200,000 research building for Touro Infirmary, j
Albert Wachenheim Jr., hos-| pital president, helped drive the I first pile into the ground at the| corner of Foucher and Colise-|
urn. The structure will be four stories.
The building is being constructed through a donation by the late Alice and Herman Levy and in part by a grant from the US Public Health Service. It is expected to be finished by the end of 1959.
Participating in the ceremony were S. J. Besthoff, chairman of the building committee; Dr. John C. Mackenzie, director of
the hospital * Dr.__Lawrence
Strug, chief of the medical staff; Dr. Sam A. Threefoot, director of research at the hospital; and officers and members of the hospital's board of | managers and medical staff.
The bottom three floors will be occupied first. Laboratories ! to be housed in the building are for the study of blood vessels, biophysics and biochemistry and the Urban Maes laboratory. The last is an independent activity, cosponsored by the Urban Maes Research Foundation, the Louisiana State university school of medicine, the Tulane university school of medicine and Touro.
There will also be laboratories where medical scientists will study the infections of the respiratory system and the improvement in surgical diagnosis and techniques.
Dr. Threefoot will be director of the laboratory studying blood, vessels. This includes the study of lymphatics and the problems I of the retention of salt and wa-| ter in the body.
Dr. Samuel B. Nadler will direct the biophysics and biochemistry laboratory. Dr Manuel Gardberg will continue his research in disorders of the heart. j The Urban Maes laboratory is ; under the direction of Dr. Floyd skelton. PHOTO:
PARTICIPATING IN THE CEREMONY marking the start of construction of the $1,200,000 research center at Touro infirmary were (from left) Dr. John C. Mackenzie, hospital director; Leo S. Weil, S. J. Besthoff Sr., chairman of the building committee; Solis Seiferth and F. Julius Dreyfous.
