Research History

Scott & White has had a long-standing commitment to medical research, beginning with founder, Dr. Arthur C. Scott, Sr. His research into the use of the electric cautery in cancer surgery, beginning in about 1908, and subsequent articles he wrote about his techniques, helped to advance research in the area of cancer treatment. Dr. Scott's reputation as a pioneer in the surgical treatment of cancer was instrumental in establishing Scott & White as the first cancer center in Texas, in 1933. Now there are more than 30,000 patients registered in the Cancer Center's tumor registry.

Research has been conducted at Scott & White throughout the years, even before there was a formal research program at the institution. A research department was established at Scott & White by Dr. Nicholas C. Hightower, who arrived in Temple in 1952 from the Mayo Clinic. Using a $2,000 grant from the American Cancer Society, Dr. Hightower created a research laboratory in a small wooden cottage on Scott & White property. The first research project conducted in the lab was a study of the secretion of the lining of the human stomach. Dr. Hightower's purpose in the study was to measure the electrical potential in human gastric mucosa.

Calling their little research cottage the "Laboratories for Clinical Investigation," in the 1950s, Scott & White's staff began to undertake some important studies, with Dr. Nicholas C. Hightower as head of the new research department. Dr. Hightower said, "All in all, I'd say it's been fun and I've had great opportunities. . . Mainly, what I tried to do was . . . give them [physicians] the tools to practice medicine, modern medicine."

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