A Guide to the Melvin J. Fregly PapersFinding aid prepared by John R. Nemmers University of Florida Smathers Libraries - Special and Area Studies Collections |
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Descriptive Summary |
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| Provenance: | Fregly, Melvin J. | |
| Title: | Melvin J. Fregly Papers | |
| Dates: | 1932-2003 | |
| Abstract: | Research files, writings, correspondence, and other papers of physiologist and educator, Melvin J. Fregly. | |
| Extent: | 74.5 linear feet. (76 Boxes) | |
| Identification: | Manuscript Collection 117 | |
| Location: | IMPORTANT: Please note that this collection is housed in the Library Auxiliary Depository off campus and will require advance notice for timely retrieval. Please contact the Special and Area Studies Collections department prior to your visit. | |
Biographical/Historical Note
Physiologist, educator. Melvin J. Fregly was born in Patton, Pennsylvania, on May 26, 1925. He was educated in Patton public schools and graduated valedictorian of his 1943 class at Patton High School. Following graduation, he was inducted into the U.S. Army and served for the next three years in the Southeast Pacific Theater during World War II, including New Guinea, the Philippine Islands, and Japan.
Following military service, Fregly enrolled at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology in 1949. He received his Ph.D. in Physiology in 1952 from the University of Rochester in New York. He accepted a position as Instructor in Physiology at Harvard Medical School and remained in the position until 1956, at which time he was appointed Assistant Professor of Physiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida. Dr. Fregly was promoted to Associate Professor in 1960 and to Professor in 1965. He served as Acting Chair of the Department of Physiology for one academic year (1964-1965), and from 1967 until 1971 he served as Assistant Dean for Graduation Education at the College of Medicine. In 1979, the University of Florida honored him with the title of Graduate Research Professor.
His primary area of research was the endocrinological and nutritional aspects of hypertension (high blood pressure), body temperature regulation, behavior, and fluid and electrolyte balance. Several of his studies investigated certain factors, such as catecholamines or chronic ingestion of oral contraceptives, which might induce hypertension. Other experiments focused on those agents, such as tryptophan, which might protect against the development of hypertension. Another major research area examined behavior, specifically the preference for salt, the mechanisms controlling salt appetite, and excessive ingestion of salt that might lead to hypertension. His studies in this area focused on the adrenal gland and its hormone, aldosterone, as well as the hormone, angiotensin II. Related research activities included thirst and drinking, altitude, and cold-induced hypertension. Dr. Fregly authored or co-authored more than 500 publications, including four books, and contributed chapters to over 50 books.
He was a member of several professional societies including the American Physiological Society, the Canadian Physiological Society, the Endocrine Society, the American Thyroid Association, the American Heart Association, and the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. He served as consultant to the Strasenburgh Pharmaceutical Company (1965-1967) and to the National Institutes of Health as a member of the Respiration and Applied Physiology Study Section (1987-1991). In the early 1990s, he served on the American Institute of Biological Sciences' Advisory Panel for NASA, the NASA Regulatory Physiology Discipline Working Group, and the Space Station Science and Advisory Subcommittee to NASA.
Dr. Fregly died in 1996.
Scope and Content
Correspondence, research material, writings, speeches, notes, photographs, printed publications, and other records make up the Melvin J. Fregly Papers (1932-2003). The collection primarily documents his professional activities from 1956 until his death in 1996, and most notably contains all of his research files and writings. The largest group of files within the collection is Series 2: Research Files (1941-1996), which documents the extensive research conducted over a span of forty years by Dr. Fregly in areas such as hypertension, salt preference and appetite, body temperature, and fluid and electrolyte balance. His research productivity is clearly demonstrated by the large size of the Publications and Writings Series (Series 8; 1949-1997), which includes journal articles, monographs, chapters in books, reviews, and an assortment of other writings. Several other groups of files also relate directly to his research, and include material such as notes and notebooks, photographs of experiments and experiment results, writings by other researchers, and speeches.
In addition, the collection contains Dr. Fregly's correspondence, personal papers and memorabilia, and papers pertaining to his teaching and professional activities as a member of the University of Florida faculty. Of particular interest is the Patent and Financial Files Series (1987-1999), which is comprised of legal and financial material, as well as associated correspondence and news clippings, concerning patents held by Fregly. Several files in this series pertain to the thirst quencher beverage TQII invented by Fregly, J.R. Cade, and M. Privette. Their patent to this invention was the subject of law suits by Quaker Oats, which claimed that the beverage was too similar to Gatorade (also created by Cade and owned by Quaker).
The collection is organized into 15 series, or groups of files:
1. Correspondence, 1946-1996
2. Research Files, 1941-1996
3. Cold Research, 1951-1995
4. Research Notebooks, 1952-1956
5. Research Recording Charts (Heart Rate, Temperature, etc.), 1972-1986
6. Research Grants, 1952-1998
7. Notes, 1947-1976
8. Publications and Writings, 1949-1997
9. Writings by Others, 1932-1991
10. Teaching Materials and University of Florida Files, 1949-1994
11. Speeches and Seminars, 1933-1994
12. Photographs, 1944-1994
13. Patent and Financial Files, 1987-1999
14. Personal and Miscellaneous, 1943-2003
15. Computer Media, Not Dated
It should be noted that Fregly and his assistants often used abbreviations when creating folder titles. Therefore, files related to salt research might be written as "sodium chloride," or as "NaCl," or simply as "salt." Likewise, some elements are often referred to by their symbol on the periodic table (e.g., "K" instead of "potassium") and many drugs and medical terms are abbreviated. In addition, some terms have multiple abbreviations used inconsistently throughout the files. The term "adrenalectomized," for example, is abbreviated as adrenal, adrex, adex, or adx.
Access or Use Restrictions
Access
Collection is open for research. Please note, however, that this collection is housed in the Library Auxiliary Depository off campus and will require advance notice for timely retrieval. Please contact the Special and Area Studies Collections department prior to your visit.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Melvin J. Fregly Papers, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Acquisition Information
The Fregly Papers were donated by Marilyn S. Fregly of Gainesville, Florida, in 1998.
Alternate Form of Finding Aid
Due to its large size this descriptive finding aid has been broken into several pages, but an alternate full version of the finding aid is available at http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/archome/freglyfull.htm. Warning: The file size for the full finding aid exceeds 500 Kb and download time may be affected.
Contents List
Correspondence 1946-1996 |
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| Consists primarily of correspondence related to the field of physiology, Fregly's
research and publications, his activities related to professional societies, and
general correspondence with colleagues, friends, and former students. Correspondents
include E.F. Adolph, Robert Cade, Christopher Barney, I.W. Waters, and Kenneth Cook,
among others. Professional societies include the American Physiological Society, the
American Heart Association, the Canadian Physiological Society. Correspondence related
to his work as a consultant with Strasenburgh Laboratories and the NASA Space Station
Science and Applications Advisory Subcommittee is also included. In addition to the
files in this series, correspondence related to his academic activities in the
Department of Physiology at the University of Florida can be found in the Teaching
Materials and University of Florida series. View Contents List |
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Research Files 1941-1996 |
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| Materials related to Fregly's research, including experiment methodology, data, notes, conclusions, and preliminary writings describing results. The files represent all of his areas of research, including hypertension (high blood pressure), body temperature regulation, behavior, and fluid and electrolyte balance. Frequent topics include the thyroid, tryptophan, catecholamines, propylthiouracil (PTU), oral contraceptives, salt preference and appetite, the adrenal gland, aldosterone, angiotensin II (AII), hydrochlorothiazide (HCZ), thirst and drinking, thyroid depressing factor (TDF), altitude and cold, hypothyroidism, isoproterenol, DOCA-salt, running activity, aminotriazole (ATZ), enovid, hypoxia, captopril, and nicotinic acid. | |||||||||||||
| It should be noted that this Research Files series does not include all materials
related to Fregly's research. For example, the collection also includes a series
pertaining to his Cold Research, the Research Notebooks series, the Research Recording
Charts series, and the Research Grants series. Further, the writings used to report
the results of research studies are found in Publications and Writings series. View Contents List |
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Cold Research 1951-1995 |
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| This series includes materials related to Fregly's research of cold, altitude, and
cold-induced hypertension. The folders in this series were filed separately from the
other research files in this collection and each folder was labeled as a "Cold" file.
It should be noted, however, that additional cold research files can be found in the
other series in this collection. The majority of the files in this series pertain to a
sequence of numbered experiments conducted by Fregly and his assistants. View Contents List |
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Research Notebooks 1952-1956 |
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| Notebooks containing research data and notes related to experiments concerning
altitude exposure, cold and hypertension, pregnancy, and the intake of sodium, water,
and potassium. View Contents List |
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Research Recording Charts (Heart Rate, Temperature, etc.) 1972-1986 |
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| Charts used to record blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and other data during
experiments pertaining to cold and altitude, ATZ, and tryptophan. View Contents List |
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Research Grants 1952-1998 |
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| This series is comprised of files pertaining to grant-funded research conducted or
proposed by Fregly. The files contain grant applications, status reports, financial
records, and correspondence related to the research projects. Topics include
hypertension, the thyroid, oral contraceptives, salt preference and appetite, thirst
and drinking, altitude and cold, and water and electrolyte exchange during exposure to
cold. View Contents List |
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Notes 1947-1976 |
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| This small series contains notes written by Fregly on topics such as hypertension,
salt appetite, thirst, the thyroid, hormones, and general physiology. A few files
contain Fregly's notes taken as a student in biochemistry, biology, and chemistry
classes. View Contents List |
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Publications and Writings 1949-1997 |
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| Comprised of journal articles, books, chapters, research reports, papers, and other
writings created by Fregly, including his thesis and dissertation. Several files
include correspondence, notes, and multiple drafts in addition to the final version of
the publication. The topics covered by the writings correspond to the topics covered
in the Research Files series. Frequent co-authors include J.R. Cade, N.E. Rowland,
W.G. Luttge, M. Kare, C.M. Blatteis, and P.E. Tyler. The majority of the files contain
journal articles and research reports, but the series also includes published
monographs authored or contributed to by Fregly. In addition to the publications filed
separately, it should be noted that this series includes several volumes, dated from
1953 to 1987, in which Fregly collected and bound his publications together in
chronological order. View Contents List |
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Writings by Others 1932-1991 |
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| Fregly maintained numerous reference files of articles, reprints, and papers created
by other authors who worked in related research areas. The series begins with his
"alphabetical by author" files and then includes all other files arranged
alphabetically according to subject or author. Prominent topics include hypertension,
body temperature, cold and altitude, salt, and oral contraceptives. In addition to the
alphabetical by author files, there are also files for writings by E.F. Adolph and
Mark Evered. Numerous files include notes made by Fregly about the writings, as well
as a small amount of correspondence with various authors. View Contents List |
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Teaching Materials and University of Florida Files 1949-1994 |
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| This series includes lecture notes, examinations, laboratory exercises, course
materials, and correspondence related to Fregly's tenure as an educator and researcher
at Harvard Medical School and the University of Florida College of Medicine. The
majority of the files date from his years at UF in the Department of Physiology
beginning in 1956. The correspondence files include letters and memoranda between
Fregly and colleagues such as Allen Neims, Neil Rowland, Ian Phillips, and Emanuel
Suter. Topics include teaching assignments, administration of the department and
college, laboratory space and equipment, and academic curriculum. The series also
includes histories of the College of Medicine and Department of Physiology. View Contents List |
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Speeches and Seminars 1933-1994 |
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| Includes materials used by Fregly to prepare for and present various talks and
seminars. In addition to speeches and drafts of speeches, several folders also include
notes and correspondence pertaining to the speech or presentation. Several files are
related to talks given at symposia and conferences, and one folder includes materials
used in a Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) poster
session. View Contents List |
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Photographs 1944-1994 |
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| Primarily consists of graphs and tables used in publications and presentations to
convey research results. Other subjects include E.F. Adolph, G.W. Lighty, Jr.,
laboratory rats, experiments in progress, and laboratory equipment. Although the
majority of the images are photographic prints, there are also dozens of slides and a
small number of negatives. View Contents List |
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Patent and Financial Files 1987-1999 |
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| This series includes financial and legal material, as well as associated
correspondence and news clippings, related to patents held by Fregly. The majority of
the files pertain to the high-protein, milk-based beverage GO! and the thirst quencher
beverage TQII (or, TQ2). The TQII beverage, invented by Fregly, J.R. Cade, and M.
Privette, was the subject of law suits by Quaker Oats, which claimed that the beverage
was too similar to Gatorade (also created by Cade and owned by Quaker). Rather than
fight a costly court battle, the inventors sold the invention to Quaker, which had no
plans to market it despite the assertion by the inventors that it was superior to
Gatorade. In addition, the series includes a few files pertaining to Fregly's
Tryptophan and L-5-Hydroxytryptophan hypertension treatment. View Contents List |
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Personal and Miscellaneous 1943-2003 |
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| This small series includes biographical material on Fregly, family correspondence,
awards and certificates, plaques, university transcripts, and miscellaneous
memorabilia and artifacts. In addition, there are a few files containing material
created by or related to his wife, Marilyn Fregly. Two of these files pertain to the
American Civilization Seminar (previously known as the Arts and Civilization Seminar),
an annual seminar series held at the University of Florida for several years. The
memorabilia and artifacts include Fregly's U.S. Army identification tags, his academic
hood, and the guest registers from his funeral service. View Contents List |
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Computer Media |
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| Includes floppy disks primarily containing research files, writings and correspondence. The disks primarily are 5 1/4" Mac format, although there are a handful of 2.5" disks. | |||||||||||||
Selected Subjects and Access Points |
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| The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog: | ||
| Organizations: | ||
| University of Florida. College of Medicine. | ||
| Subject Terms: | ||
| Cold -- Physiological effect. | ||
| Hypertension -- Endocrine aspects. | ||
| Hypertension -- Nutritional aspects. | ||
| Oral contraceptives -- Physiological effect. | ||
| Physiology -- Research. | ||
| Physiology -- Study and teaching. | ||
| Salt -- Physiological effect. | ||
| Water-electrolyte balance (Physiology) | ||
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