Dr. Robert M. Pike was one of the original faculty members when UT Southwestern (then known as Southwestern Medical College) opened in 1943. Dr. Pike taught microbiology from 1943 until his retirement in 1974. He was instrumental in the study and prevention of contracting infectious diseases in the laboratory. According to Dr. Eugene Rosenblum, emeritus professor of microbiology, "Everyone used reasonable precautions, but someone today would be horrified at the way things were handled then. Dr. Pike initiated many of the precautions that became standard practice, including using cotton as plugs in the ends of pipettes and using bulbs for suction instead of sucking it by mouth."