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Hannah V. Carey was born in Brooklyn, NY. As a child she always wanted to know more about animals and biology for as long as she can remember. Hannah spent most of her childhood summers in the country near the Long Island Sound, where she got to be around both terrestrial and marine animal life.

To Be or Not to Be a Veterinarian
After graduating from high school, Hannah decided to attend the State University of New York in Binghamton and major in biological sciences. She chose SUNY-Binghamton because it had (and still has) a very good reputation for high-quality undergraduate education. In addition, because it was a state school, Hannah was able to compete for and receive a New York State Regents Scholarship, which provided the funds she needed to attend college. When Hannah began college, she wanted to become a veterinarian, because of her interest in animals and biology.

After Hannah had gone to college for a couple of years, a few key teachers and their courses opened her eyes to the possibility of getting a PhD rather than a DVM degree. Unlike many students today, Hannah did not have the opportunity to do research while she was an undergraduate. However, through her teachers and her classes, Hannah discovered that she’d much rather learn how to do her own research and study how animals came to be the way they are, rather than learn how to just treat sick animals. It was those experiences that really turned Hannah on to the excitement of a career as a PhD doing research and teaching at the university level.

After getting her PhD degree in 1983, Dr. Carey went on to do additional research training (called post-doctoral training), first at University of Nevada and then at Ohio State University. It was during those years that she returned to studying physiology. She was able to integrate her ecological/evolutionary training with physiology and soon came to realize that studying physiology was where she belonged. However, she always thinks about the ecological and evolutionary aspects of her work in physiology.

Although she chose to get a PhD instead of a DVM, in some sense Dr. Carey feels that she has now come full circle, working in a school of veterinary medicine. She finds that it is a wonderful environment to work in, particularly at an outstanding institution like Wisconsin. Dr. Carey has stayed at the University of Wisconsin for her entire career to date. She is now a full professor in the department.

Other Jobs
In addition to her research, Dr. Carey also gets to teach. Her teaching responsibilities include teaching physiology of the gastrointestinal system and renal (or kidney) system to first-year veterinary students. She also trains graduate students in her lab, both Masters and PhD students, and trains undergraduate students who want to do research during their time in college.

Doing service work for the university and for physiology is also something Dr. Carey gets to do. Dr. Carey has served on many committees, both for her university and for APS at the local, state, national, and international levels. She has been active in the Gastrointestinal Section of APS and has served on many committees, like the Membership and Women in Physiology Committees. In 1999, she was elected by the entire membership to serve on the APS Council and help govern the Society. While she was on Council, Dr. Carey was asked to lead a group to determine how best to make people aware of the APS and its members’ research. One outcome of that group was the founding of a Communications Committee. Dr. Carey was asked this year (2005) to be the Chair of that Committee and to oversee those efforts to make physiology and APS more visible to the everyday person.

Dr. Carey also enjoys giving various talks. She gives talks to the public about her research, careers in science, and issues related to the use of animals in research. She has spoken at elementary and middle schools, senior citizen’s groups, and community groups. This fall (2005), she has been asked to be one of the featured speakers at the National Association of Biology Teachers national meeting to talk about her research. She also is active in the Wisconsin Association for Biomedical Research and Education.