Robert E. Shank Oral History

Interviewee

Robert E. Shank

Interviewer

Paul G. Anderson, PhD

Files

Summary

Robert E. Shank was interviewed by Paul G. Anderson on June 27, 1980 for approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Scope and Content

Shank discusses his student years at the Washington University School of Medicine and his research with Dr. David Barr there, his research at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research during World War II, and his postwar research at the Public Health Research Institute for the City of New York. The conversation then focuses on the major research focus of Shank's career - nutritional studies. Shank relates his experiences conducting nutritional study research in Newfoundland, the study of nutrition during war and the necessity of providing proper nutrition to troops, public health surveys conducted overseas under the auspices of the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense (ICNND), and his experiences as participant and consultant to the Public Health Service and the Indian Health Service. Shank comments on the challenge of improving nutrition standards in developing countries with steadily increasing populations and the role of the National Research Council and the Food Nutrition Board in the development of standards of recommended dietary allowances of nutrients. He also discusses the growth of the vitamin industry, nutrition in prepared and baby foods, and obesity. He then discusses the development of the WUSM Department of Preventive Medicine, the Irene Walter Johnson Institute of Rehabilitation, the Medical Care Group, and several divisions, including Health Care Research, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Applied Physiology, and Lipid Research.

Biographical Information: Interviewee

Robert E. Shank (1914-2000) graduated from Washington University School of Medicine in 1939. He did his residency at Barnes Hospital (1939-1940) and at St. Louis Isolation Hospital (1941). In late 1941 he became an assistant in research and resident physician at the hospital of the Rockefeller Institute in New York. While retaining these positions, Shank entered the U.S. Navy in 1942 and was assigned to the hospital's Naval Research Unit. After returning to civilian life in 1946, he became an associate of the New York Public Health Research Institute. In 1948 became the Danforth Professor of Medicine and head of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Washington University School of Medicine. As head of Preventive Medicine, Shank brought a new research emphasis in nutrition studies to his department. He contributed to national and international projects in nutrition science. He was particularly associated with the formation of standards for minimum dietary allowances by the National Research Council Food and Nutrition Board. He served as a consultant to the U.S. Public Health Service, the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense, the Pan American Health Organization, and several food industry associations. Under his leadership, the scope of the department broadened to include work in rehabilitation, health maintenance organizations, biostatistics, applied physiology, and lipid research. Shank became professor emeritus in 1981. He proved to be the last regular head of the department: after five years under interim leadership, Preventive Medicine and Public Health was discontinued in January 1987 and its faculty and programs assigned to other departments, notably Internal Medicine.

Biographical Information: Interviewer

Paul G. Anderson, PhD served as an archivist at the Washington University School of Medicine library from 1982-2008. He earned a PhD (American History) from Wayne State University in 1977.

Interview Date

1980-06-27

Collection Identifier

OH044

Length

Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Restrictions

Users wishing to publish (in whole, or in part) content taken from the audio or transcript of this oral history interview must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Becker Archives. For detailed information regarding publication and use of this oral history, contact the Becker Archives (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).

Recommended Citation

Robert E. Shank Oral History, OH044, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.

Disclaimer

The Becker Archives provides access to this oral history interview as a record of the past. This interview reflects the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of the interview participants, which may reflect outdated, biased, and offensive views and opinions. The Becker Archives does not endorse the views expressed in this interview, which may contain materials offensive to some users.