OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Open search box
Principal Investigator and Ava Helen Pauling Professor, Linus Pauling Institute
Faculty Advisor, Linus Pauling Institute Core Laboratories
Emeritus Professor, College of Health
Office: 451 Linus Pauling Science Center
Telephone: 541-737-7977
Fax: 541-737-5077
Email Address: maret.traber@oregonstate.edu
Mailing/Express Delivery Address:
Maret G. Traber, Ph.D.
Linus Pauling Institute
Oregon State University
307 Linus Pauling Science Center
Corvallis, OR 97331
Our laboratory investigates vitamin E. Why do we need it? How much do we need? What is the best way to consume it? Are there adverse effects from consuming too much? Nearly 100 years after the discovery of vitamin E, we recognize that α-tocopherol is required for human life, functions as a potent fat-soluble antioxidant, and is regulated by the human body. A protein in the liver, the α-tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP), is critical to maintain adequate vitamin E concentrations in the body. We have discovered that this protein is also necessary in the developing brain, likely to deliver vitamin E as the brain is forming. To do these studies we use the zebrafish because its genes are similar to many of those in humans. Using the zebrafish model, we are now seeking to better define the functional role of α-tocopherol by studying vitamin E deficiency. At the other extreme, we also study vitamin E excess. We have found that vitamin E metabolism serves to prevent excess accumulation of vitamin E in the body. We are currently investigating how these mechanisms might have adverse effects with respect to vitamin K metabolism. Overall, the assessment of the delivery and function of vitamin E in humans has lagged because previously we lacked the appropriate tools. We are in the process of developing an intravenous preparation of vitamin E labeled with deuterium to be able, for the first time, to measure the absorption, biokinetics, and bioavailability of vitamin E in humans.
| 1972 | B.S., Nutrition and Food Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA |
| 1976 | Ph.D., Nutrition, University of California, Berkeley, CA |
| 1972-1976 | Research Assistant, University of California, Berkeley, CA |
| 1976-1977 | Instructor of Nutrition, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ |
| 1977-1993 | Assistant Research Scientist to Research Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY |
| 1994-1998 | Associate Research Biochemist, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA |
| 1998-present | Principal Investigator, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR |
| 1998-2002 | Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR |
| 2002-present | Professor, School of Biological and Population Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR |
| 2003 | Outstanding Paper Presentation Award at the 94th Annual AOCS Meeting and Expo, Kansas City, MO |
| 2004 | Honorary Lifetime Member, Oxygen Club of California |
| 2008 | Faculty Excellence Award, College of Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University |
| 2010 | Volunteer Service Award, Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine |
| 2011 | Member Recognition Award, Vitamins & Minerals Research Interest Group, American Society for Nutrition |
| 2013 | Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Nutrition Sciences Award, presented by the American Society for Nutrition |
| 2013 | DSM Nutritional Science Award on Fundamental Research in Human Nutrition |
R01 DK067930 (Traber, PI)
NIH/NIDDK
Vitamin E Requirements in Women
Period: June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2015
DSM (Traber, PI)
Relationship of Vitamin E Adequacy to a Vitamin E Biomarker, α-CEHC
Period: July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015