Doris Calloway, who changed nutrition, remembered in series of articles

Doris Howes Calloway was a UC Berkeley nutrition professor who changed the way people thought of diet and nutrition.

For Women's History Month in March, Doris Howes Calloway, who passed away in 2001, has a career worth exploring. The pioneering nutrition scientist who served as a researcher and administrator at UC Berkeley for 27 years is being honored by her students and fellow nutrition experts in a series of articles in the journal Nutrition Today.

Her first research job was for the U.S. Army, at the Armed Forces Food and Container Institute in Chicago, where in 1959 she won the first of many awards, a plaque naming her “Man of the Year” for research, according to a UC Berkeley news release. After a brief stint at the Stanford Research Institute, Calloway was appointed professor of nutrition at UC Berkeley in 1963 and retired in 1990. 

The most recent Nutrition Today article, “Doris Howes Calloway: Exceptional Role Model, Mentor and Humanitarian,” was authored by Mary Blackburn, UC Cooperative Extension health and nutrition advisor for Alameda County; Janet King, UC Berkeley Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology emeritus professor; Nancy Butte, Baylor College Department of Pediatrics emeritus professor; Suzanne Murphy, University of Hawaii Cancer Center emeritus professor; Allison Yates, retired USDA Agricultural Research Service deputy director for the North Atlantic Area; and Molly Kretsch, retired USDA Agricultural Research Service deputy administrator.

“Her memorable humanitarian spirit, compassion, sensitivity and the lens through which she viewed diversity, equity, and inclusion resonated with people worldwide,” wrote the authors of Calloway. “Her endearing personal qualities and professional ethics enhanced her stature as a trailblazing nutrition scientist, outstanding role model, exceptional mentor, and worldwide social justice benefactor in nutrition.” 

The series of nine articles begins chronicling her career with "Doris Howes Calloway—A Woman Who Changed Nutrition Around the World.” Subsequent articles focus on Calloway's research, the impact of her work at the time she published the findings, and the continuing influence they have on contemporary scientific discourse around human nutrition, dietetics and public health. 

The other articles are

• Doris Howes Calloway: A Pioneer in Human Nutrition Research. Nutrition Today. Vol. 57, Number 3, May/June 2023.
• Doris Howes Calloway Improving Food Composition Tables. Nutrition Today. Volume 57, Number 4, July/August 2022.
• Doris Howes Calloway: Contributions to US Department of Agriculture Human Metabolic Research. Nutrition Today. Volume 57, Number 5, September/October 2022.
• Doris Howes Calloway: Her Work and Legacy on Nutritionally Vulnerable Populations in North America. Volume 57, Number 6, November/December 2022.
• Doris Howes Calloway: A Multi-country Study of the Impact of Moderate Malnutrition. Nutrition Today. Volume 58, Number 1, January/February 2023.
• Doris Howes Calloway: An Exemplary Administrator and Leader. Nutrition Today. Volume 58, Number 2, March/April 2023.
• Doris Howes Calloway: Impact on National and International Food and Nutrition Policy. Nutrition Today. Volume 58, Number 3, May/June 2023.

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