J. David Bristow moved from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was born, to Portland, Oregon in the 1930s. Educated in Portland public schools, he entered Willamette University at age 16 and graduated from the University of Oregon Medical School (UOMS) in 1953. Dr. Bristow interned at the Multnomah County Hospital and completed one year of a residency at the Veterans' Administration Hospital before he was drafted into the Navy. During part of his two years in the Navy, he had a busy practice in obstetrics. Bristow completed his VA residency upon discharge from the Navy, and then completed fellowship year in cardiology at UOMS and a year at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California at San Francisco. Upon returning to Portland, he became an assistant faculty member at UOMS, teaching medical students, residents, and cardiology fellows, as well as conducting research in a newly-funded cardiac catheterization lab. Besides his life and career, in this interview, Bristow reflects on a number of university issues, including funding and fees for service, town-gown relationships, women and minorities in medicine, building on campus and space concerns, information technology in healthcare, changes in medical training and curriculum, leadership at OHSU, and various changes at the medical school during the 1960s and 1970s, including opening University Hospital and the resultant increase in full-time faculty.