The Wallach Revolution
The Citizens Committee for Better Medicine is proud to present “The Wallach Revolution – (An Unauthorized Biography of a Medical Genius)”. The book is now available and chronicles the challenges, successes, and unique perspective of Dr. Joel D Wallach, a true pioneer in the field of science-based, clinically verified medical nutrition. (No portion of the content on this site may be exhibited, used or reproduced by any means without express written permission of the publisher.) Click HERE to get your copy of this brand new book!Chapter 6 Page 5
The Cystic Fibrosis Discovery Suppressed by Yerkes Primate Center
A novice at Yerkes, Wallach had produced an intellectual revolution but did not have an academic or political base of support to defend his findings. New to the Center, he had made a discovery so impactful that it caused the life’s work of veterans there to appear trifling by comparison. As is so often the case, here again self-interest would prevail over science, denying the public the benefit of Wallach’s discovery.
Dr. McClure returned from vacation and to the word that Wallach, the new veterinary pathologist, had made a discovery of such magnitude that it surpassed what he and other senior academic leaders had accomplished in their entire careers. A veterinarian new to Yerkes had upstaged his superiors of long standing with what reasonably could be described as one of the most important discoveries in modern animal and human medicine—the first case of cystic fibrosis diagnosed in a non-human species and the finding that selenium deficiency was a cause and provocateur of cystic fibrosis. Rather than be grateful for Wallach’s achievement, McClure reversed himself and reacted defensively to protect his own position, his relationship with the Center Director and, in particular, the Center Director’s wife.
Before they appreciated the implication of the discovery on Center Director Bourne’s wife, Drs. Geoffrey Bourne and McClure spoke favorably of the discovery, contributing to an Emory University press release touting the significance of it. That supportive view would soon change as the basis for the selenium deficiency came to light.