Dr. James J. Peifer, Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Foods and Nutrition, died March 22, 2004. He was 79 years old.

Dr. Peifer was internationally known for his research on fish oils and heart disease. He also did important work regarding essential fatty acids early in his career. He received his bachelor of science degrees in both chemistry and biology from Ursinus College in 1948 and his PhD in 1954 from Rutgers University in biochemistry and physiology. He was on the FACS faculty for 21 years, beginning in 1967. His honors included being named a research fellow at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, by the American Heart Association. He also was awarded the Creswell Award in 1993.

Dr. Peifer joined with Dr. Dick Endsley in establishing the Peifer-Endsley Research Award in 1997. This award recognizes students whose research during graduate school has made a significant contribution to advancing knowledge in one or more specialty areas of the College.

In 1997, Dr. Peifer wrote a brief synopsis of his career, including his arrival in the Foods and Nutrition Department:

“In 1967 Bill Caster and I were the only Graduate Faculty members in our Foods and Nutrition section … and research laboratory facilities were extremely limited. An ancient chemical hood, very limited lighting facilities, no animal quarters and a few thousand dollar budget characterized my initiation into Academia at the Institution,” he wrote. “There was the promise of new research facilities within a year, but this did not materialize until some 5 years later (1972).”

Dr. Peifer goes on to explain some of the efforts he and Dr. Caster made to enhance the FDN program and concludes by saying, “The Department now includes a many faceted approach to Human Nutrition including basic genetic-metabolic studies of obesity, metabolic aberrations of diabetes, applied research studies of Centenarians and the interrelationships between exercise and nutrition. In 1967 I could never have anticipated such a diversity of activities in our Nutrition Department…. It is my hope that my contributions to the Endsley-Peifer Scholarship Fund may provide support for additional promising graduate students in our Foods and Nutrition Department of this College of Family and Consumer Sciences.”

Dr. Peifer is survived by his wife, Miriam; sons Richard J. Peifer, Garner, NC; and John W. Peifer, Atlanta; daughter, Audrey Gargiullo, Atlanta; and five grandchildren.

To make a gift in memory of Dr. Peifer to the Endsley-Peifer Research Award Fund, checks should be made out to the UGA Foundation/Endsley-Peifer Research Award Fund and sent to Katrina Bowers, 224 Dawson Hall, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602.