As Dean, Dr. Lapham was responsible for the expansion and renovation of the Hutchinson Building, as well as the unification of all Medical School departments at Tulane's Downtown campus. He oversaw the medical school at a time of profound change in medical education.

At Tulane, this change was manifested in an expansion of the tropical medicine and public health section, improvements to the medical library, expansion of faculty and research funds and the creation of the Delta Regional Primate Center.

In addition to his administrative achievements, Dr. Lapham collaborated on the development of the Friedman-Lapham pregnancy test, better known as the "rabbit test."