Dr. James Neel; Studied A-Bomb Victims
Dr. James V. Neel, human genetics pioneer who headed studies of the survivors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission after World War II and was one of the first scientists to realize the importance of genetics in diagnosing and treating disease, is dead at 84.
Neel, who founded the nation’s first academic department of human genetics in 1956 at the University of Michigan and chaired it for 25 years, died Tuesday of cancer at his home in Ann Arbor, Mich., university officials said.
He studied the atomic bomb survivors and their offspring for more than 40 years for the Casualty Commission and its successor, the Hiroshima-based Radiation Effects Research Foundation, concluding in 1988: “There isn’t any good news coming out of atomic war, but the genetic consequences may not be as great as we thought at one time.”
His lifetime of research led him to believe that human genes are more resilient to many problems than formerly perceived.
Neel’s studies of the Japanese led him to conclude, for example, that consanguineous marriages--those between first cousins or even closer blood relatives--were less likely than believed to produce children with genetic illnesses ranging from diabetes to congenital blindness and deafness. In the Japanese survivors, he found that 10.5% of children of the marriages of close relatives died by age 10 compared with 9% of children from unrelated parents.
“There are ill effects, but they’ve probably been exaggerated in the past,” Neel told The Times in 1993. “You can make a very good argument that inbreeding is not a bad thing. The problems are more sociological than biological. Perhaps mutations are not as deleterious as we thought, or genetic material is more forgiving.”
Neel was the first scientist to recognize the genetic basis for sickle cell anemia, leading to its becoming the first described “molecular disease.”
And in 1962, Neel introduced the “thrifty gene” theory to genetics, stating that the inherited genes that cause such diseases as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure stem from early mankind’s need to forestall starvation by conserving calories and salt.
His work included not only the Japanese study but also genetic studies of the remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in Brazil and Venezuela.
“Jim Neel was a true visionary in xow genetics would one day be used not only to determine the cause of disease, but also to treat it,” said Dr. Allen S. Lichter, dean of the University of Michigan Medical School in a statement.
Neel offered his own observations about the human genetics field he helped create and develop in his autobiography, “Physician to the Gene Pool: Genetic Lessons and Other Stories” published in 1994.
A New Scientist magazine reviewer echoed others in complaining that Neel told very little about himself in the book, but praised him for providing “an invaluable bird’s-eye view of the development of human genetics over the last 50 years and insight into its current and future problems.”
In his book, Neel made major suggestions for the future: control population, improve the environment, conserve resources, increase genetic counseling and permit abortion, be wary of overemphasizing longevity at the expense of the young; and let expensive gene therapy take a back seat to other priorities.
A native of Hamilton, Ohio, Neel earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and a doctorate and a medical degree from the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. He joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1946 and officially retired in 1985, although he continued his research for many years.
Among his many awards were the National Medal of Science, the Smithsonian Institution Medal, the Allen Award from the American Society of Human Genetics and election to the National Academy of Sciences.
Neel is survived by his wife of 56 years, Priscilla, one daughter and two sons, a sister and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions can be made to the James V. Neel Fund, University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Human Genetics, Box 0618, 4708 Medical Science II, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0618.
