Requests to visit/work in Chain's laboratory, 1949-1965

The facilities of Chain's department at the Istituto, and the research projects under way there, attracted a continuous stream of visitors and of applicants to work there. Successful applicants, or those sponsored by specific research grants, are included under 'Staff' in C.56-C.53 above, but the full extent of the demand to participate in Chain's research can be better gauged from the folders below. In addition to prospective students, the correspondence also emanates from firms, governments and university laboratories, organisations, publishers and journalists, and from established scientists many of whom were or became friends who made several visits to the Istituto over the years.

The material ranges from single letters of application to more substantial exchanges including travel arrangements, publications of results and letters of thanks for hospitality both in the laboratory and at home. There are several examples of Chain's wish to accept students from Eastern Europe and from developing countries.

Attention is drawn to similar materials in D.112-D.123 where Chain's Department of Biochemistry at Imperial College, London, also rapidly developed into an international centre of attraction for research.

The General Correspondence in Section K also includes many references to visits to Rome