Forming the Society:

A Look at IDSA’s Foundation

Dinner and Discussion

Before its formation in 1963, IDSA began as two groups. One was a dinner group, initiated by Jay P. Sanford, MD, which met every spring in Atlantic City, NJ, during the joint annual meet-ings of the American Federation for Clinical Research (AFCR), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and the Association of American Physicians (AAP). This event featured leaders of the field, who discussed the subject of infectious diseases and presented their clinical investigations. Members of AAP and ASCI who were interested in infectious diseases were invited to share ideas and participate in informal discussion about topics that the organizers of this event had selected. Each year, the dinner group flourished with eager participants who enjoyed the highly intellectual and stimulating discussions. The group had become a highlight of the annual meetings for those whose interests it had sparked; so much so that suggestions had been made to formalize the group to make it a permanent feature of the annual meetings.

Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, another group had formed out of the American Society for Microbiology’s (ASM) antibiotics meetings that took place in the fall. Sponsored by Henry Welch, PhD, a leader in the field of antimicrobial therapy, the meetings called together individuals who would speak on the latest trends and advances in antimicrobial therapy. However, some attendees were dissatisfied with the course of these meetings; they believed that the non-therapeutic facets of infectious diseases were not being addressed. To remedy this, they proposed the organization of a dinner group that would discuss the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, attributes of microbes, immune reactions, and epidemiologic dilemmas. In 1962, a few of the attendees requested that Maxwell Finland, MD, a premier investigator of infectious diseases, spearhead this gathering, which would be similar to the ones that took place in Atlantic City.

Establishing an Organization

Having been given the charge to initiate an infectious-diseases group, Finland asked Dr. John E. Blair, president of ASM, to address the new group. In response, Dr. Blair offered to support the foundation of an infectious diseases division within ASM. Though Finland was partial to Dr. Blair’s offer, he arranged a committee that would consider all the possibilities of formally establishing such an organization and to develop a plan.

Lowell A. Rantz, MD, chaired the committee and Edward H. Kass, MS, PhD, MD, acted as the secretary. After much consideration, the committee decided to set up the organization independent of ASM. They determined that an independent organization would not only better benefit the infectious diseases group, but it would potentially merit greater acknowledgment of the importance of infectious diseases research.

The goal of the new society would be to cultivate the growing knowledge of infectious diseases, endorsing scientific programs and retaining an elite membership of persons whose work showed significant contributions to the field. The committee reached out to 250 individuals from a myriad of sources. These individuals received a survey, which asked whether they believed that a new, independent infectious diseases organization was necessary; and, of those who replied, the vast majority supported the idea. Finland’s decision, therefore, was to call an organizational meeting of the projected new society.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America

On October 26 and 27, 1963, the organizational meeting took place at the Airlie House in War-renton, VA. For the first meeting, 125 charter members and other guests were in attendance. It was agreed upon that the organizing committee should be the first serving executive council. Though Rantz was elected as the first president, he nominated Finland, instead, for the position. Thus, Maxwell Finland stood as president, Edward Kass as secretary and treasurer, and Edward C. Curnen, MD., Mark H. Lepper, MD, Samuel P. Martin, MD, David E. Rogers, MD, Monroe J. Romansky, MD, and Alex J. Steigman, MD, as the councilors.

The organization was named based on the intent of having membership open to all of the Americas and not limiting the Society to the United States.

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