WASHINGTON--NIH has balked at what would have been unprecedented funding of the Soviet component of collaborative research with a Soviet émigré now in the United States (The Scientist, April 2, 1990, page 1). But the scientist, geneticist Valery Soyfer, says that he'll be able to carry out most of the work by having his collaborator, molecular biologist Maxim Frank-Kamenet-skii, spend time in Soyfer's new laboratory at George Mason University.
Persecuted and penniless in the Soviet Union, Soyfer was a 10-year critic of the politicization of Soviet science who hoped that his fortunes would improve after he arrived in the United States. Two years after he was allowed to emigrate, Soyfer is still a "wanted" man. But this time he has no complaints.
Last month, Soyfer learned that NIH wants him to have $121,000 this year as part of a three-year grant to learn more about the triple helix DNA structure. ...
