Theme: Nutrition
Tammy Bray Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
March 28, 2014
Tammy Bray (b. 1945) was the Executive Dean of OSU's Division of Health Sciences and
Dean of its College of Public Health and Human Sciences from 2002 to her retirement
in 2016. An accomplished researcher in the field of Nutrition, Bray arrived at OSU
in 2002 following stints as research professor and administrator at the University
of Guelph and the Ohio State University. As an OSU dean, Bray oversaw the expansion
and reorganization of what was formerly known as the College of Health and Human Sciences.
In 2014 the college achieved a major milestone when it became home to the first accredited
public health curriculum in the state of Oregon. Bray's interview focuses on her
upbringing in Taiwan, her academic career, and her efforts as a dean at Oregon State
University.
Balz Frei Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
January 10, 2014
Balz Frei (b. 1958) served as Director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State
University from 1997 to 2016. A Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and
Biophysics, Frei's research has focused on the mechanisms causing chronic human disease,
in particular atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, and the role that micronutrients,
phytochemicals and dietary supplements might play in ameliorating these diseases.
His interview provides an overview of his life experiences and career path, beginning
with his formative years in Switzerland and continuing on to his academic appointments
in the United States. The interview's primary emphasis is Frei's tenure at OSU, with
particular attention paid to the growth of the Linus Pauling Institute under his leadership.
An Oral History of the Linus Pauling Institute
Six interviews with Steve Lawson, conducted by Chris Petersen.
August - December 2011
The Linus Pauling Institute was founded in 1973 by Linus Pauling and two colleagues,
and was originally located near the campus of Stanford University. Primarily devoted
to exploring Pauling's controversial ideas on the health benefits of large doses of
vitamin C, the Institute gradually developed a broad and eclectic research agenda
that included work on superconductivity, molecular evolution, and metabolic profiling.
Consistently hamstrung by financial woes and further embattled by personnel disputes
that resulted in legal actions, the Institute was on the brink of closure by the time
of Pauling's death in 1994. Buoyed by a handful of timely donations and the administrative
acumen of Pauling's eldest son, Linus Pauling Jr., the Institute managed to stay afloat
and, in 1996, relocated to Oregon State University. Today the Linus Pauling Institute
is a thriving research enterprise that makes regular contributions to the fights against
cancer and cardiovascular disease, and to the promotion of healthy aging. Over the
course of six interviews, Steve Lawson, an Administrative Officer at LPI who has worked
for the Institute since 1977, relays his memories of the Institute's colorful history
and shares his impressions of Linus Pauling, whom Lawson knew as a colleague and as
a friend for nearly two decades.
Melinda Manore Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
November 30, 2015
Melinda Manore (b. 1951) received her Ph.D. in Nutrition from Oregon State University
in 1984. In 2001, Manore returned to OSU, joining the faculty as chair of what was
then the Department of Nutrition and Food Service Management. A pioneering scholar
of the intersections between nutrition and exercise, Manore has published widely on
topics including rural obesity in children, nutrition and exercise for women, and
healthy eating for athletes. Her interview traces the arc of her academic career with
a particular focus on her achievements in research. Included as a secondary topic
are Manore's institutional memories of the transformation of the College of Home Economics
into what is now the College of Public Health and Human Sciences.
Maret Traber Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
June 23, 2014
Maret Traber (b. 1950) is the Director of the Oxidative/Nitrative Stress Core Laboratory
at Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute. Traber joined the Institute
as a principal investigator in 1998 after twenty-two years spent working in support
of others' research efforts. The author of over 180 peer-reviewed papers, Traber is
now internationally recognized as a leading authority on Vitamin E, and has helped
to establish the recommended daily allowance for the vitamin. Her interview focuses
on her long journey to institutional stability, the research that she has conducted
in nutrition and biochemistry, and her reflections on change and growth at the Linus
Pauling Institute.