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# NO FOREIGN DISSEMC-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-LPage 5 of 12 PagesCS-311/07089-6816. The research projects of this department were to be directed fundamentally towards the study and electronic computation of the modification ir both healthy and sick persons or such: biological parameters as hemodynamic curves, concentration and saturation of gases and alterations in the basic acid equilibrium of the blood, and were to include the study of the variations in the biological parameters from the biochemical and hemodynamic point of view during cardiovascular surgery and in physiological research related to the cardiovascular apparatus. In neurophysiology and neuropharmacology, the research projects would be oriented towards research on higher nervous activity including electrical modifications produced in higher nervous activity; in hematology, the projects would be oriented towards the study of isoimmunization and pathological alterations of the different blood cells. The electronic computers would be needed to process the immense quantities of data such research would produce.17. Dr. Fernando J. Toro, a medical doctor who is also an electrical engineer, was to head this department. Toro is reputed to be very intelligent, a gifted organizer, highly motivated, and by far the best man available in Cuba for the type of research described; he has more than 20 years experience in electromedical instruments.18. Reduced Number of Research Projects. The scarcity of research projects can easily be explained by the fact that Cuba, which has no considerable scientific tradition, must first train personnel in the higher methods of scientific research, and such training requires years of effort. The few persons prepared to do important research are at the present time occupied in the administrative and pedagogical organization of the CNIC and cannot work full-time as researchers.19. Research in Antibiotics. In 1960, Dr. Jose Antonio Padron, an eminent research scientist, began work on the isolation and culture of antibiotic substances, the study of their properties, and experimentation with said substances; he ini. tiated this work at the Oncological Hospital but is now a CNIC collaborator. As of December 1967, he had isolated and exhaustively studied 89 new antibiotics, many of which are too toxic for human use. His work demonstrates his great ability and perserverance, and with the material resources of the CNIC at his disposal, should result in discoveries of scientific importance.CNIC Training Program20. Doctor of Basic Sciences. The CNIC offers a three-year training program leading to the degree of Doctor of Basic Sciences for which program fifth-year medical students with exceptional academic standing can qualify if (a) during their college career they have shown special aptitudes for teaching and research, (b) the UJC gives them an "A" grade in political standing or reliability, and (c) they are cleared by a DSE investigation. In 1966, of the students then in the fifth year of medical school, only six were accepted by this training program; all were excellent students and UJC members and are now medical doctors: Ramon Ortiz, Rosa Elena Simeon, Ismael Clark Arce, Hilda Donderis, Julio Rodriguez Docal, and his wife Maira (lnu). As of April 1968, probably no more than 30 students were studying in this training program, chiefly because of the rigorous entrance requirements.