The founder of an institution: Robert E. Cooke and the NIHCD.

Abstract

Courtesy of the NIH. Robert E. Cooke was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and earned his B.S. at Yale's Sheffield Scientific School, in 1941, and his M.D. at the Yale School of Medicine, in 1944. He completed his internship and residency at the New Haven Hospital, with an intervening period of service in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. In 1956, Cooke joined The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as professor and chair of the pediatrics department, at which time he began attending to the needs of underserved mothers and their children and for those with mental health challenges. From his base at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Cooke directed the Kennedy Program for Research into the Etiology of Mental Retardation, led the task force that recommended establishing the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and helped implement the national Head Start program to help children born into poverty overcome social and education obstacles. Dr. Cooke was a close friend and pediatrician of the Shriver family. Dr. Cooke and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of then President John F. Kennedy, are considered to be the driving forces behind the establishment of the NIHCD. In the late 1950s, Dr. Cooke began advising Mrs. Shriver as she headed the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, which was dedicated to confronting issues related to intellectual and developmental disabilities. In an interview for the NICHD's 50th anniversary in 2012, Dr. Cooke recounted his involvement: “I was a good friend with Eunice Shriver and when the president was elected, before he took office, they put together a task force to look at health and social services for the new administration. And I got a telephone call one day asking me if I could serve on this task force.” The task force's report highlighted the lack of research on the physical, intellectual, and emotional growth of children, and recommended the establishment of an agency to investigate disorders of human development, including intellectual and developmental pathologies. The NICHD was initially founded to support research on human development throughout the entire life process, focusing on understanding intellectual and developmental disabilities - a focus that was virtually non-existent at the time. As in all eras, resistance came from leaders in the scientific community, who felt that funds would be better spent supporting more productive fields of research. Mrs. Shriver did not back down, instead publicly stressing the positive impact this research would have towards understanding general human development. For her efforts, Congress renamed the institute the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The early years of the Institute were both exciting and challenging. At that time, it was difficult to find researchers, physicians, and educators willing to pursue this new field of study. But, with the support of Congress, the NICHD recruited a cadre of some of the most accomplished researchers in the country, some of whom became directors of the 12 new Institute research centers established by the task-force plan. Dr. Cooke continued his involvement with the NICHD after its founding. He served as a member of the Institute's advisory body, the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council, the NICHD Intramural program's Board of Scientific Councilors, and the Advisory Board for the NICHD's National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research. In his 2012 interview, Dr. Cooke added that the NICHD has proven its value over its 50-year history: “My feeling is that NICHD has made an enormous contribution to children in this country and, I think, to medicine in general…. What you do for the child seems to make an enormous difference in his life.” “Dr. Cooke cared deeply about the health and well being of children—those least able to make their needs known to our country's leadership,” said Dr. Alan E. Guttmacher, current Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD. “The NICHD came into existence largely due to his foresight and determination and, to this day, serves as a tribute to his efforts.” Adapted from: www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/Pages/031814-cooke-obituary.aspx www.medicalarchives.jhmi.edu/papers/cooke.html Gary M. Wessel