Isadore Dyer, MD (1865-1920) was an American physician who founded the “The Home” at Carville, Louisiana and was the first president of its Board of Control. He was one of the foremost authorities on leprosy in the United States and, believing that the disease was not hopeless, made original suggestions for its cure. In 1916, then Dean of Tulane School of Medicine, he was the star witness before the Senate in the case of establishing of a national leprosarium in the U.S. His 21 page testimony set out a strong case for federal involvement and helped to win over the Committee. Although he succeeded in this, he failed to acheive his main ambition of marshalling intense medical focus on leprosy research.
International Journal of Leprosy, Centennial Festskrift edition, Vol 41, No 2. 1973.