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PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 2002 PARASITOLOGY IN THE 21st CENTURYAuthor(s): Sharon PattonSource: Journal of Parasitology, 89(4):647-651. 2003.Published By: American Society of ParasitologistsDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1645/GE-3248PAURL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1645/GE-3248PA

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647

J. Parasitol., 89(4), 2003, pp. 647–651q American Society of Parasitologists 2003

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 2002*

PARASITOLOGY IN THE 21st CENTURY

Sharon PattonDepartment of Comparative Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, 2407 River Drive, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee37996-4543. email: spatton@utk.edu

ABSTRACT: During the past several weeks, I, like many of my predecessors, have read many speeches previously delivered at theannual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists (ASP). These are wonderful, exciting papers, and I recommend them toyou. The history of our Society and much of parasitological research and philosophy are contained in these speeches. An under-standing of parasitology and specifically of the ASP in the 21st century necessitates an understanding of our roots. Just as proteomics,genomics, DNA, and Mendel are a continuum, so is our progression as a science and as a Society. This thought is not original withme. Several presidents have discussed this point in detail: Eloise Cram in 1956, ‘‘Stepping Stones in the History of the AmericanSociety of Parasitologists’’ (Cram, 1956); Martin Ulmer in 1978, ‘‘What’s Past is Prologue’’ (Ulmer, 1978); Harry Hoogstraal in1984, ‘‘ASP: Its Historic Role and Modern Opportunities’’ (Hoogstraal, 1985); and Mike Kemp in 1988, ‘‘Parasitology a DegenerateDiscipline, Populated by Degenerate Scientists, Studying Degenerate Organisms?’’ (Kemp, 1989).

What do we find as we delve into the past to see the future?The ASP is actually an outgrowth of the Helminthological So-ciety of Washington (HelmSoc), which was founded in 1910 asa regional society. Its growth and expansion into new areas ofthe country provided the impetus for a national society. As wascommon in the 20th century, they formed a committee, con-ducted surveys, and held an organizational meeting at theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science meetingin Washington on 30 December 1924 (Cram, 1956). The firstannual meeting of ASP was held in Kansas City, Missouri, in1925, with H. B. Ward as president of the Society. Dr. Wardhad begun publication of the Journal of Parasitology in 1914,and, after ASP was organized, all records of its meetings werepublished in this journal. The ASP Council, however, wantedits own journal. Rather than starting a new journal in compe-tition, the Council negotiated with Dr. Ward, until in 1932 hetransferred the Journal of Parasitology to ASP with the provi-sion that it always carry the legend ‘‘Founded by Henry Bald-win Ward’’ (Cram, 1956).

Very interesting, but what does that have to do with us in the21st century? It is important because we too strive to realize thevision of those early founders. According to Asa Chandler, thefounding parasitologists thought that the interest of zoologists, vet-erinarians, and medical staff and public health workers in parasi-tology had so greatly increased that there was a demand for a so-ciety that would bring together all the varied individuals interestedin this subject (Chandler, 1946). Our recent mission and vision state-ments echo this desire to be a diverse society. The Mission of theASP is to improve our understanding of parasites, parasitic diseases,and parasitism on a global basis and to disseminate this knowledgeworldwide. In the 21st century, we must achieve this mission byproviding opportunities for all scientists to publish their originalfindings in the Society’s journal (the Journal of Parasitology) andto present and discuss new information at the Society’s annual meet-ing, in ASP’s Newsletter, through ASP’s Public Advocacy Network,and in discussion groups on the Internet. We must educate nonpar-asitologists through our Web page and other educational media pro-duced by the Society. We must take advantage of the informationage and make our journal, past, present, and future editions, morereadily available online as well as in its present form. To meet our

* Presidential address, 77th Annual meeting, American Society of Par-asitologists, 5 August 2002, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

goal to remain a strong focus of scientific exchange across the broaddiscipline of parasitology, we must actively seek and support newresearch areas and new members while retaining current membersand encouraging the continued existence of highly specialized areasof research in parasitology.

Our Vision Statement: Recognizing that parasitism is the mostcommon form of existence and that parasites and the diseases theycause affect the health, development, and evolution of free-livinganimals and plants, the ASP seeks to foster the advancement ofknowledge in all areas of parasitism. Recognizing the value of thisknowledge and the responsibility given to ASP as a result of un-derstanding parasitism, ASP seeks to disseminate this knowledgeto all those who are in need of it through our outreach with ed-ucational systems and governmental or public and private agen-cies, as well as during our scientific deliberations. To do this, ASPis dedicated to the perpetuation of all areas of the discipline ofparasitology. We still research lifecycle biology, veterinary andmedical parasitology, and the concerns of ‘‘public health men,’’but the number of highly specialized areas in the discipline ofparasitology has increased.

The ASP scientists are interested in human and animal health,food safety, zoonotic diseases, development of vaccines andprophylactics, and improved health and nutrition in the thirdworld. We work in all these areas with a slightly different per-spective than the health professional. Parasitologists contributeto applied science by conducting basic research. Who knowswhat field of discovery will interact with another and providea solution? In the early 1940s, an obscure biologist studied ma-laria in birds at a small college in the Midwest. This work wasconsidered esoteric and of little value in the real world. Then,the United States entered World War II, and life cycle knowl-edge of the malarial parasite and techniques for studying ma-laria were very valuable. Our obscure parasitologist was on thecutting edge and made a major contribution to the war effort,and Dr. G. R. Coatney’s work in primate malaria is still rec-ognized (Patton, 2002). In his presidential address in 1975,‘‘Relapse in Malaria—An Enigma,’’ Dr. Coatney mused, ‘‘Ma-laria is a complicated infection and Nature has given up thedetails of it with great reluctance’’ (Coatney, 1976). Many inthe 21st century still echo this sentiment even as they applymolecular techniques and seek new therapies and vaccines.

The need for well-trained parasitologists and expanded researchin parasitology became painfully evident during the Second WorldWar. Drs. Chandler and Stoll clearly chronicled the need in their

648 THE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY, VOL. 89, NO. 4, AUGUST 2003

presidential addresses in March and December 1946. Indeed Chan-dler’s ‘‘The Making of a Parasitologist’’ (Chandler, 1946) andStoll’s ‘‘This Wormy World’’ (Stoll, 1947) are classics and shouldbe read by all biologists. It was an exciting time to be a parasi-tologist! What about Parasitology in the 21st century? Recently,this newsflash raced across my computer screen: ‘‘Hemorrhagicfevers continue to smolder across the globe. Dengue is declaredan emergency in Honduras and neighboring countries. A malariaoutbreak in the highlands of Kenya, a non-endemic region, haskilled almost 300 people. West Nile virus has continued its spreadacross the US.’’ What an exciting time to be a parasitologist!Lyme and other arthropod-borne diseases, Neospora caninum, Sar-cocystis neurona, and opportunistic parasites currently demand at-tention. With the new threats posed by bioterrorism, who knowswhat challenges await us and what techniques from our disciplinecan be applied to these new problems? As parasitologists and asASP members, we must ask for the funding of all scientific dis-ciplines and not just those that interest us. In the diversity andinteractions between specialty areas, we are more likely to accom-plish our research objectives. We must take advantage of the in-formation explosion, and work together and respect, appreciate,and learn from our colleagues. In addition to applied and medicalresearch in parasitology, we must encourage basic studies in gen-omics, proteomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology,systematics, life cycle biology, epidemiology, and ecology.

Harry Hoogstraal began his presidential address with this sto-ry (Hoogstraal, 1985): Two scientists, Joan and John, werestrolling on the beach on a sunny day. Suddenly somethingscurried in the sand beside their feet. ‘‘What’s that?’’ askedJohn. ‘‘Why don’t you know,’’ Joan replied, ‘‘that’s a sand-crab.’’ ‘‘You’ve been studying its synapses for four years.’’(Many of us identify with this story.) The rest of Dr. Hoogs-traal’s speech, however, reminded us that there is room for usall in parasitology, no matter what our passion or specialty area.In the 21st century, ASP membership must include those in awide variety of parasitological specializations if we are, in Dr.Hoogstraal’s words, ‘‘to elucidate effectively the nature of par-asitism and maintain our identity as a group dedicated to ex-plaining holistic parasitism, from the parasites basic moleculesthrough all its life activities within or upon the host or in theenvironment away from the host’’ (Hoogstraal, 1985).

Twenty-five years ago, I attended my first ASP meeting andheard President Martin Ulmer discuss ASP membership (Ulmer,1978). ASP began with 321 charter members and by 1975 had1,946 members. Dr. Ulmer was concerned because in 1977,membership had decreased to 1,700. Unfortunately, at our mostrecent Council meeting (4 August 2002), Secretary-treasurerGeorge Cain reported a continuing decline in membership. Thefollowing chart chronicles our lack of growth.

ASP membership

Year Members Percent decrease

1975 1,9461977 1,718 11.71999 1,203 30.02000 1,106 8.12001 1,088 1.62002 1,036 4.8

Total decrease in membership since 1975: 46.8%

This is unacceptable. By 2010, I challenge us to increase ourmembership to 2,010! How can we do that? If all membersrecruit 1 new member, we can reach that goal quickly. As the21st century progresses, we must increase our support of grad-uate and undergraduate education in parasitology and encouragestudents to attend regional parasitology meetings and the na-tional meeting. We must continue to raise money through ourauction and find other ways to support more graduate studenttravel. Our meetings must be affordable, particularly for stu-dents. We must have an accessible, up-to-date Web site that isreferenced when searches containing any words concerning par-asitology are used. In addition to having the newsletter onlineand available for viewing, let us email it to all members and toUniversity departments where future parasitologists may bestudying and working. Let us retain the members we have.Studies by other scientific societies, e.g., Geological Society ofAmerica, show that when a new member maintains the mem-bership for 6 yr, you have them for life. In the 21st century, letus offer 3-yr memberships, insulating members from increasesin dues and giving them time to become part of the Society.Let us make it possible to join the Society or renew membershiponline, maintain an online membership directory, and encour-age easier interactions among the members. Of course, we wantto grow because the quality of the science in the Society de-mands it. We must highlight our journal as THE Journal ofParasitology and publish our most excellent papers in it. By2010, the ASP should have 2,010 members!

In the 21st century, we will heed the advice of past presidentslike John Oaks, Lillian Mayberry, and Larry Roberts and main-tain our membership in scientific and political coalitions. Thisyear, we reinvigorated our participation in the American Insti-tute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and continued our activeparticipation in the Council of Scientific Society Presidents(CSSP). Participation in groups such as CSSP and AIBS allowsus to be informed and proactive on issues that affect parasitol-ogy and scientific policy in general. Both CSSP and AIBS relayinformation to officers on pertinent scientific issues that are thenrelayed to the members. The CSSP also gives us the opportunityto meet with congressional leaders and educate them about whatwe do, what our Society is about, and why all sciences, notonly biomedical sciences, and homeland security need support.

In the 21st century, we will form symbiotic relationships withother societies interested in parasitism. This year, HelmSocsponsored a symposium entitled ‘‘Parasitology in Science andSociety.’’ A Presidential Summit jointly sponsored by HelmSocand ASP followed. I thank Dennis Richardson for his leadershipin this project. The Symposium was held in conjunction withthe October meeting of HelmSoc, and the presentations thatdiscussed the goals and visions of the societies and organiza-tions present are published in Comparative Parasitology (Hel-minthological Society of Washington, 2002). At the subsequentPresidential Summit, we recommended sharing informationfrom public advocacy networks, writing and publishing at least1 joint article aimed at educating the public about parasitologyand decreasing the influence of pseudoscience, and encouragingjoint meetings. All of us have reduced funds for meetings.Many younger members are lost to our societies when they optto attend 1 large, joint meeting rather than several smaller meet-ings. Perhaps societies with similar interests can meet jointlyor have overlapping meetings with reduced registration fees for

PATTON—PARASITOLOGY IN THE 21st CENTURY 649

members attending both. Perhaps, we can explore exchangingemail directories and newsletters and even offering joint mem-berships. The second Presidential Summit will be conductedWednesday, 7 August 2002 at this venue.

We all know that in his presidential address Dr. Chandlercompared a parasitologist with an orchid because ‘‘he requireslong and careful nurturing, develops slowly and is himself aparasite in that he is dependent on many sciences for materialaid. But when he comes to flower, he is a rare and beautifulobject, scientifically speaking, and is usually slow in going toseed. He may not always smell like an orchid, but then we can’thave everything’’ (Chandler, 1946). Chandler also outlined thetraining necessary to become a parasitologist. In his judgment,a parasitologist is a scientist hunting for new facts, derivingsound conclusions from those facts, and applying the conclu-sions to new problems. He is keen of intellect, sound in judg-ment, observing, imaginative, persevering, industrious, en-dowed with initiative and resourcefulness, and imbued withcourage, honesty, and an impersonal love of truth. Dr. Hall inhis address in 1932 included ‘‘a large capacity for hard work’’in his description (Hall, 1933). Both men agreed that no otherbranch of natural science dovetails into or overlaps so manyother branches. This is still true of parasitology in the 21stcentury. Dr. Chandler maintained that a familiarity with the lit-erature and the ability to competently search the literature wasparamount. In the 21st century, we have tools that Dr. Chandlerprobably never imagined, but ability to search the literaturecompetently is still important.

Education and teaching were also on the mind of PresidentMarietta Voge when she delivered her presidential address ‘‘Ex-cellence in Teaching’’ (Voge, 1977). She maintained that toteach is to learn. A good teacher shows interest and enthusiasmin her subject and in her students. This is certainly necessaryin the 21st century, whether we teach undergraduate, graduate,medical, or veterinary students. Today we have technology thatDr. Voge probably never imagined, but teaching problem solv-ing, scientific thinking, and the necessity of life-long learningis still paramount. We were all students, and we have felt theimpact of a good teacher. As we adapt 21st century technolo-gies, let us not lose personal contact with the student. Mosthave heard the old adage—‘‘Those that can, do; those that can’t,teach!’’ As parasitologists, all the things we do, make us betterteachers. The presidential addresses chronicle examples of ex-cellent research performed by many of our presidents. Thesemen and women used the knowledge and skills from their re-search to mentor students both in and out of the classroom. Alove of the subject and love of the student will promote learn-ing. Dr. Voge said, ‘‘It is the teacher that sparks and stimulatesthe minds of students to produce new ideas. It is the teacherwho gives the impetus to students to become the most importantpropellant to our Society and civilization—the innovator, be-cause without innovation and originality, society becomes stag-nant and decadent. A superior teacher is the interpreter andkeeper of our past, the critic of our present, the dreamer ofthings to come’’ (Voge, 1977).

In the 21st century, who will replace those with a lifetime ofexperience and knowledge? Who will maintain the parasitologycollections and museums? Who will make the new discoveries?Many ASP members are in academia and must share this ex-citing field of parasitology with students, both graduate and

undergraduate, in an engaging way. Furthermore, we must en-courage them to follow us into academia, teach, and conductresearch and investigations. We cannot be content with con-ducting our own research; we must teach others the scientificmentality and train them to be the researchers of the future.

In the latter part of the 20th century, teaching was not alwayshighly valued. As parasitologists, we sometimes felt that para-sitology education was particularly unappreciated and that ourcourses were constantly being shortened or even dropped fromthe curriculum. This ‘‘feeling’’ is not new! In his presidentialaddress in 1929, Dr. Nathan Cobb detailed the inadequate treat-ment of nematodes (Cram, 1956). Just recently, Dennis Rich-ardson conducted a survey of ASP members and found that,indeed, in these early years of the 21st century, senior parasi-tologists are generally pessimistic about the status of parasitol-ogy and believe we have lost teaching time from the field.Younger parasitologists are more optimistic and think the qual-ity of parasitology education and the respect for parasitologyas a science have both increased in the last 20 yr. Analysis ofthe data obtained from the survey indicated that the number ofhours of parasitology taught has not declined in the past 20 yrexcept in medical schools. Nevertheless, in the 21st century, weneed to teach parasitology anywhere we can. If there is no par-asitology course on your campus, worm your way into othercourses available. Offer lectures on parasitic organisms incourses in invertebrate zoology, immunology, mechanisms ofdisease, public health, and animal and plant science. Offer wetlaboratories for high-school biology classes, 4-H groups, pre-veterinary clubs, and teacher workshops. Follow the admonitionof John Holmes in his presidential address and use parasites asmodels to teach biologic principles (Holmes, 1991). Be enthu-siastic and proactive. Our science is sound; our field is impor-tant. The ASP’s education committee is teaching us that para-sitology education does not begin in college. We can exposestudents in elementary and high school to the wonders of sci-ence and parasitology.

You may have noticed that much of the language in the pres-idential addresses of the past was male oriented. Asa Chandlerspoke of ‘‘public healthmen’’ and always used the pronoun‘‘he’’ when speaking of developing parasitologists (Chandler,1946). In her address, Eloise Cram described the ‘‘men’’ whocontributed to the early years of parasitology (Cram, 1956). Dr.Cram was the first woman elected president of ASP. This eventwas not repeated until 20 yr later when Marietta Voge becamepresident. In introducing Dr. Voge, Justus Mueller quipped, ‘‘Itis hoped and expected that in this era of ‘Women’s Lib’ andthe equal rights amendment that we do not have to wait another20 yr for history to repeat itself’’ (Voge, 1977). But wait wedid, until in 1995, 19 yr after Dr. Voge’s presidency, LillianMayberry became president of ASP. In the 21st century, theASP presidency will be more gender equal. In 1924, 8% of thecharter members of the Society were women (American Societyof Parasitologists, 1926), but perusals of our recent membershiproles show almost as many women in the field as men. As Iend this address, let us consider some of the women who havecontributed to the development of Parasitology and ASP. I haveincluded only a few of the female standouts, and those that Imention are deceased or retired.

Eloise Blaine Cram was a charter member of ASP and thefirst female president in 1956–1957 (Schwartz, 1957). She was

650 THE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY, VOL. 89, NO. 4, AUGUST 2003

secretary of the committee that called for the organizationalmeeting of ASP. She was elected to office in several other pro-fessional societies including corresponding secretary (1921–1926) and later President of the Helminthological Society ofWashington (1927). She received the B.S. degree from the Uni-versity of Chicago in 1918 and worked as a bacteriologist untilbeginning work with Dr. R. B. Ransom in 1920 on the lifehistory of Ascaris suum. After that, she devoted herself to hel-minthology and published many papers. Dr. Cram worked 16yr in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and 20 yr in the U.S.Public Health Service (Schwartz, 1957). She was described asa brilliant researcher, with a vigorous persistence to arrive atsolutions to perplexing problems. She was also known as kind,considerate, and tolerant of others. Our own Mary Lou Prit-chard recalls Dr. Cram sitting down beside her, a shy youngstudent at her first ASP meetings, and asking her about her fieldof study and following her progress. Dr. Cram delivered herPresidential address in March of 1956; she died 9 February1957.

Marietta Voge, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Yugoslavia,received her Ph.D. from the University of California. She wasan avid researcher who spent much of her research career study-ing tapeworms as Justus Mueller said ‘‘with a rare thoroughnessfrom almost every angle’’ (Voge, 1977). She spent almost herentire academic career on the faculty of the medical school atUCLA where her research blossomed, and she published nu-merous papers. She and her colleagues developed one of themost innovative and comprehensive curricula in medical para-sitology for students of medicine. She pioneered problem-basedlearning when in 1970 she coauthored a laboratory manual forparasitology that aimed at teaching parasitology through re-search projects (MacInnis and Voge, 1970). She was mentor tomedical students and graduate students. She was known for herenergy and enthusiasm and many contend that the words sheused to describe a teacher in her presidential address in 1976most surely describe her: ‘‘A superior teacher is the interpreterand keeper of our past, the critic of our present, the dreamer ofthings to come’’ (Simpson, 1988). She died in 1984.

MayBelle Hutson Chitwood was a world authority on thestructure and classification of nematodes (Lichtenfels, 1995).Most of her expertise came from experience obtained workingwith her husband Dr. Benjamin G. Chitwood. Their classic, In-troduction to Nematology, first published in 1937 is still usedby scientists today (Chitwood and Chitwood, 1937, 1974). Afterthe Chitwoods divorced in 1952, MayBelle became an inde-pendent researcher at the Agriculture Research Service whereshe made numerous contributions and was promoted from tech-nician to senior scientist. She was always available and willingto share her knowledge and assist in the identification of thenematodes she loved and called ‘‘her children.’’ In 1972, shecoauthored the landmark manual Identification of ParasiticMetazoa in Tissue Sections, a volume that is almost indispens-able to parasitologists and pathologists alike (Chitwood andLichtenfels, 1972). MayBelle Chitwood was a life member ofHelmSoc. She joined ASP in 1939 and served the Society onvarious committees. She was Associate Editor of the Journal ofParasitology from 1962 to 1967. Ralph Lichtenfels, who knewher well, reports that during her working years this highly re-spected scientist felt unappreciated. After her death in 1994, he

requested that to honor her we write a note of praise to a col-league we admire—a very good idea today (Lichtenfels, 1995).

Mary Catherine Dunn, as Dr. Faulkner mentioned in his in-troduction, was my biology professor in college. She was alsomy colleague, mentor, and friend. She received her parasitologytraining from Dr. George LaRue at the University of Michiganand Dr. Elon Byrd at the University of Georgia where she wasthe first parasitology student to receive a Ph.D. During her ca-reer, she worked as a chemical analyst and as a research para-sitologist at Parke, Davis Company, and Columbia University.She taught at Culver-Stockton College, Philadelphia College ofPharmacy and Science, Shorter College, and Middle TennesseeState University. She had a positive influence on parasitologythrough her research and inspiration of students, both graduateand undergraduate. As a member of ASP, she was instrumentalin the formation of the Southeastern Society of Parasitologists(SSP) and served as Secretary-Treasurer and Mother of SSPfrom its beginning in 1969 until her untimely death in 1986. Ithank her for her inspiration and the challenge to achieve. Mylife and that of others were truly enriched by her example.

Annie Katherine Prestwood served ASP as Vice President,Council member, and as a member of many different commit-tees. Katherine was active in many scientific societies. Sheserved the Wildlife Disease Association first as Secretary andlater as President, receiving the Distinguished Service Awardin 1988. A veterinarian by training, Dr. Prestwood received theD.V.M. degree from the University of Georgia and spent mostof her professional career in the College of Veterinary Medicinethere. At the time of her retirement, she was Professor andActing Head of Parasitology. She received many awards fromUGA for her teaching and service and was named a SeniorTeaching Fellow. She pioneered computer-assisted learning andfounded the Computer-assisted Learning Center at UGA. Shepublished approximately 150 scientific papers and is an au-thority on parasites occurring in free-living wildlife and do-mestic animals. Her major research focus was lungworm par-asites of mammals and the pathogenesis of tissue-dwelling pro-tozoans of domestic and wild species.

Helen Elaine Jordan received her D.V.M. and Ph.D. degreesfrom the University of Georgia. She is well known as a veter-inary parasitologist and teacher. Much of her career was spentin the Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Microbiology,and Public Health, at the College of Veterinary Medicine,Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, with several years asa professor in the Department of Pathology at the University ofGeorgia. She had a productive research career studying para-sitism in domestic animals with many publications and speak-ing engagements. She was perhaps best known as a teacher ofparasitology for veterinary students and a mentor for graduatestudents. With grant support, she prepared audiotutorial lessonsin parasitology and shared them with her students and col-leagues. She was known for taking the students into the fieldfor true problem-based learning. Students tell of how Helenmade slides from her own eyebrows for them to study Demodexspp.

A May news release from the University of Nebraska, Lin-coln: ‘‘Mary Lou Hanson Pritchard of Lincoln, professor emer-itus of museum and biological sciences at UNL will receive anhonorary doctorate 53 yr after NU prohibited her from pursuinga Ph.D. in zoology. A Lincoln native, she graduated from

PATTON—PARASITOLOGY IN THE 21st CENTURY 651

Teachers College High School and earned a bachelor’s degreewith distinction in business administration (1946) at NU. Whiletaking an introductory biology course to meet the requirementsfor her business degree, she discovered parasitology and stayedat the University to earn a master’s degree in zoology (1949)under Professor Harold Manter. Although she won the WolcottAward, the top award given to a graduate student in zoology,the zoology department at that time did not accept women fordoctoral programs, and she was denied entry. Pritchard appliedfor an International Exchange Scholarship (IES) to study withJean Baer, a leading international parasitologist at the Univer-sity of Neuchatel in Switzerland, only to be turned down againbecause NU did not participate in the IES program. In 1948,she took a job as technical assistant in charge of records at theUniversity of Nebraska State Museum, beginning what provedto be a long and productive career at the University as a sci-entist and teacher. She became an instructor of parasitology in1950, assistant professor in 1968, associate professor in 1974,and professor in 1980. She also served as curator of parasitol-ogy at the NU State Museum from 1980 until her retirement in1993. Mary Lou, Dr. Pritchard, epitomizes leadership, schol-arship, and graciousness of spirit. She has mentored and in-spired innumerable graduate and undergraduate students. Whenshe related how Eloise Cram was kind to her as a young grad-uate student, I thought about how many of us were befriendedat our first ASP meeting by Dr. Pritchard. She published widelyand presented many scientific talks throughout the world. Weall appreciate her book The Collection and Preservation of An-imal Parasites (Pritchard and Kruse, 1982). In her 1993 Curric-ulum Vitae, she notes, ‘‘more than 125 papers have been pub-lished by students of Pritchard. I am philosophically opposedto putting my name on student research.’’ She lists her majorresearch interest as the systematics, zoogeography, and host–parasite relationships of helminths, primarily the Digenea ofmarine fishes. She was instrumental in making the Harold Man-ter Laboratory a world-class resource center for parasitology.She has received numerous grants and belongs to many scien-tific societies. She has served ASP as an archivist since 1983.She also has been a Council member, Program Officer, andAssistant and Associate Editor of the Journal of Parasitology.Time does not permit relating all of her honors and awards, but,in 1994, Mary Lou received the first Distinguished ServiceAward from ASP. In 1995, she was elected to Life membership,and in 1996, she was elected Distinguished Member Emeritus.

Though I cannot discuss the other 20th century women par-asitologists, the ones we have considered here certainly inspireus all. Let us learn from our past, keep the vision, and assurethe success of parasitology in the 21st century.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as the President of ASP.I learned many things, and I pledge to you that my work forthis Society has only just begun. I also thank my students atthe University of Tennessee, undergraduate, graduate, and vet-erinary, who are my enjoyment and inspiration. I thank mycolleagues, Kristy Smedley, Drs. Charles Faulkner, and VinaDiderrich, who assist and support me in all my endeavors ofteaching, laboratory work, society work, and usually keep smil-

ing. I thank my mentors Drs. Mary C. Dunn and John Pattenwho provided my first experiences in parasitology, ProfessorJames Marion Edney, my major professor at the University ofKentucky for his patience, and Drs. Harold Drudge and EugeneLyons at the University of Kentucky who taught me the prac-tical side of parasitology. I thank those who have supported methrough the years. My mother (Virginia Bland) and father(Charles) taught me about hard work, encouraged and supportedmy esoteric tendencies, and learned to tolerate ‘‘worm-talk.’’My father died while I was in college, but as a beef and poultryfarmer, I think he would have enjoyed my career choice. Mysiblings were supportive and are my best friends. I thank myhusband, Raymond McCord, and my daughter, Rachel PattonMcCord, for their love and support. They unselfishly allow meto pursue my career, and I love them even more than parasi-tology.

LITERATURE CITEDAMERICAN SOCIETY OF PARASITOLOGISTS. 1926. Charter members. Jour-

nal of Parasitology 12: 158–176.CHANDLER, A. C. 1946. The making of a parasitologist. Journal of Par-

asitology 32: 213–221.CHITWOOD, B. G., AND M. B. CHITWOOD. 1937. An introduction to nema-

tology. Monumental Printing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 727 p.———, AND M. B. H. CHITWOOD. 1974. Introduction to nematology.

University Park Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 334 p.———, AND J. R. LICHTENFELS. 1972. Identification of parasitic metazoa

in tissue sections. Experimental Parasitology 32: 407–519.COATNEY, G. R. 1976. Relapse in malaria—An enigma. Journal of Par-

asitology 62: 3–9.CRAM, E. B. 1956. Stepping stones in the history of the American So-

ciety of Parasitologists. Journal of Parasitology 42: 461–473.HALL, M. C. 1933. Is parasitology a science? Journal of Parasitology

19: 183–191.HELMINTHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 2002. President’s sym-

posium: Parasitology in science and society. Comparative Parasi-tology 69: 113–161.

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