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Founders

Bert and Kuggie Vallee established their namesake foundation in 1996 to improve scientific research by promoting dialogue between active and prominent biomedical scientists around the world. They began by sponsoring visiting professorships among institutions in which Bert had developed close collaborations and by organizing biennial meetings. Several early members of the I Tatti community have recorded their memories of Bert and Kuggie, which can be found on our Oral History page. And important dates can be found on the History Timeline.

bert & kuggie

Natalie K Vallee

July 30, 1921 – November 23, 2011

Dr Natalie (Kuggie) Kugris Vallee was born in Girardville, Pennsylvania and came to Boston, Massachusetts in 1944 to attend Boston University.  She earned her BS and EdM in Biology from Boston University while working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Science Department at Boston University and also as a research consultant at the New Hampshire Mental Hygiene Clinic.  In 1952, Dr Vallee earned her EdD, also from Boston University, and subsequently became Professor of Biology at Lesley College, which at the time was an all-…

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Bert L Vallee

June 1, 1919 - May 7, 2010

Dr Bert Lester Vallee, the Paul Cabot Professor of Biochemical Sciences Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, was an able physician, a passionate scientist, and a brilliant biochemist. He was born in Germany (1919) and grew up in Luxembourg.  With a BSc from the University of Bern, he came to the United States in 1938.  After receiving his MD from the New York University College of Medicine in 1943, he began work at Harvard Medical School and MIT where he became interested in the metabolism of iron and other metals such as zinc and copper.…

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