Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies

The following is an interim description which may change when detailed cataloguing takes place in future:

Papers regarding the management and scientific research of the TMRU, including:

Scientific research notebooks, papers and correspondence, 1950s-1960s

Published scientific papers, 1950s-1960s

Material on conferences and visits to and from other institutions, 1950s-1970s

Policy and administration papers, including staffing papers and financial records, 1950s-1980s

External committee papers, including the Trinidad Rgional Virus Laboratory, 1960s

1950s-1980s

10 large boxes

An initial accession of material was given to the Wellcome Tropical Institute by Michael Golden, c. 1988, Director of the TMRU, and transferred to the Contemporary Medical Archives Centre in 1990 when the WTI closed. Additional material was given by Professor John Waterlow in 2007

The Tropical Metabolism Research Unit was established in October 1954 as an MRC Research Unit in the University of the West Indies to investigate the metabolic basis of childhood malnutrition. The research focused on protein and energy metabolism in children with Kwashiorkor and Marasmus, two forms of severe malnutrition. The Tropical Metabolism Research Unit became a postgraduate teaching facility, with the introduction of the Master’s programme in Nutrition in 1972. In 1999, the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit (TMRU) became a part of the Tropical Medicine Research Institute (TMRI). Its work is described here

At Wellcome Collection:

WTI/JCW, the papers of John Conrad Waterlow, founder of the Tropical Medicine Research Unit, and Director, 1954-1970.

This collection is currently uncatalogued and cannot be ordered online. Requests to view uncatalogued material are considered on a case by case basis. Please contact collections@wellcomecollection.org for more details.