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Medal Winners: How the Vietnam War Launched Nobel Careers
As the ground war in Vietnam escalated in the late 1960s, the US government leveraged the so-called doctor draft to secure adequate numbers of medical personnel in the armed forces. Among newly minted physicians' few alternatives to military service was the Clinical Associate Training Program at the National Institutes of Health. Though only a small percentage of applicants were accepted, the elite program launched an unprecedented number of remarkable scientific careers that would revolutionize medicine at the end of the twentieth century. Medal Winners recounts this overlooked chapter and unforeseen byproduct of the Vietnam War through the lives of four former NIH clinical associates who would go on to become Nobel laureates. Raymond S. Greenberg traces their stories from their pre-NIH years and apprenticeships through their subsequent Nobel Prize–winning work, which transformed treatment of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Greenberg shows how the Vietnam draft unintentionally ushered in a golden era of research by bringing talented young physicians under the tutelage of leading scientists and offers a lesson in what it may take to replicate such a towering center of scientific innovation as the NIH in the 1960s and 1970s.
440 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 15, 2026
Phenomenal medical and scientific success of the Yellow Berets of the NIH.
September 17, 2026
Doctors graduating medical school during the Vietnam War had several options. Most went to serve medically in the war theater. A few went into other smaller niches like the Public Health Service. A select few were drafted into a program to train in research at the NIH; these were subsequently known as "yellow berets" - an epithet turned point-of-pride among its recipients.
Over the years, those who trained in this Clinical Associates program ended up achieving some of the most prominent spots in the medical system, whether in universities or industry. A relatively large number ended up becoming Nobel Laureates. Raymond Greenberg's book details the experiences of four of these laureates.
In contrast to academic medicine at the time, the NIH program did not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion. (In effect, it did on the basis of gender since it tended to divert those subject to the draft - exclusively males.) Thus they admitted Jews, who were subject to quotas in many clinical programs yet, given a chance, were able to excel in research.
Most of these MDs did not have any prior research experiences but just had their curiosities unleashed by the hard work. Some even came from English-major backgrounds in undergrad yet ascended to the heights of a Nobel prize. The mentorship was superb, and the climate was open, selfless, and egalitarian, in contrast to many academic settings in the day.
This book details the lives and science of just four of those who excelled most in this climate. Graduates of this program, like Tony Fauci, would set the course of a golden age of American biomedical research across the country. They illustrated that starting a research career doesn't take a whole lot other than dedicated salary support, dedicated time, innate talent, and a supportive environment.
By reading this book, those aspiring to careers in scientific research can seek to emulate their success. Leaders in research can learn to emulate the NIH's climate in their settings. These stories also illustrate the serendipity and personal nature of research. To those who find science fascinating, the content is stimulating, educational, and entertaining. Written in the engaging genre of history, this book offers inspiration to the scientific community.
Over the years, those who trained in this Clinical Associates program ended up achieving some of the most prominent spots in the medical system, whether in universities or industry. A relatively large number ended up becoming Nobel Laureates. Raymond Greenberg's book details the experiences of four of these laureates.
In contrast to academic medicine at the time, the NIH program did not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion. (In effect, it did on the basis of gender since it tended to divert those subject to the draft - exclusively males.) Thus they admitted Jews, who were subject to quotas in many clinical programs yet, given a chance, were able to excel in research.
Most of these MDs did not have any prior research experiences but just had their curiosities unleashed by the hard work. Some even came from English-major backgrounds in undergrad yet ascended to the heights of a Nobel prize. The mentorship was superb, and the climate was open, selfless, and egalitarian, in contrast to many academic settings in the day.
This book details the lives and science of just four of those who excelled most in this climate. Graduates of this program, like Tony Fauci, would set the course of a golden age of American biomedical research across the country. They illustrated that starting a research career doesn't take a whole lot other than dedicated salary support, dedicated time, innate talent, and a supportive environment.
By reading this book, those aspiring to careers in scientific research can seek to emulate their success. Leaders in research can learn to emulate the NIH's climate in their settings. These stories also illustrate the serendipity and personal nature of research. To those who find science fascinating, the content is stimulating, educational, and entertaining. Written in the engaging genre of history, this book offers inspiration to the scientific community.
October 4, 2025
A few weeks ago, I was scrambling to find an interesting start to a presentation I had to give on training programmes for those who wanted to become clinician-scientists (i.e. medical doctors who also engage in scientific research). In the process, I stumbled onto what must have been the most effective unofficial pipeline for producing such individuals.
In the USA, the draft during the Vietnam War applied to all eligible men, including doctors. However, doctors drafted during the war could apply to carry out their military service in the National Institutes of Health as clinical associates, allowing them to remain state-side. They would spend two years working there with senior scientists, learning the ins and outs of basic biomedical science, with some clinical practice mixed in. This programme, during its time of operation during the Vietnam War, produced 9 Nobel laureates.
Greenberg reviews the history of this programme, and how it set up these clinical associates for great scientific and professional success. He individually delves into the 5 most famous Nobel Prize winners from the programme - Brown & Goldstein, Varmus & Bishop, and Bob Lefkowitz, looking at their lives before, during, and after clinical associate training in the NIH. It’s a great complement to Bob Lefkowitz’s biography, and does offer substantially more breadth in terms of how the “Yellow Beret” programme (as it was pejoratively known as) developed core scientific competencies in medical doctors.
On the whole, I think this book does a great job laying out the individual successes of these 5 laureates and also makes a larger point, that training doctors to think like scientists advances both basic biomedical science and medical practice alike.
In the USA, the draft during the Vietnam War applied to all eligible men, including doctors. However, doctors drafted during the war could apply to carry out their military service in the National Institutes of Health as clinical associates, allowing them to remain state-side. They would spend two years working there with senior scientists, learning the ins and outs of basic biomedical science, with some clinical practice mixed in. This programme, during its time of operation during the Vietnam War, produced 9 Nobel laureates.
Greenberg reviews the history of this programme, and how it set up these clinical associates for great scientific and professional success. He individually delves into the 5 most famous Nobel Prize winners from the programme - Brown & Goldstein, Varmus & Bishop, and Bob Lefkowitz, looking at their lives before, during, and after clinical associate training in the NIH. It’s a great complement to Bob Lefkowitz’s biography, and does offer substantially more breadth in terms of how the “Yellow Beret” programme (as it was pejoratively known as) developed core scientific competencies in medical doctors.
On the whole, I think this book does a great job laying out the individual successes of these 5 laureates and also makes a larger point, that training doctors to think like scientists advances both basic biomedical science and medical practice alike.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews