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Hannah V. Carey was born in Brooklyn, NY. As a child she had a strong attraction to animals and biology for as long as she can remember. Hannah spent most childhood summers in the country near the Long Island Sound, where she was able to learn about 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 selected SUNY-Binghamton because it had (and still has) a very good reputation for high-quality undergraduate training. In addition, because it was a state school, Hannah was able to compete for and receive a New York State Regents Scholarship, which provided critical financial assistance for her undergraduate degree. When Hannah began college, she intended to become a veterinarian, because of her interest in animals and biology.

After a couple of years following that course of study, a few key professors and their courses opened Hannah’s eyes to the possibility of pursuing a PhD rather than a DVM degree after college. Although she did not have the opportunity to do research during her undergraduate years, Hannah’s instructors helped her to realize that she’d much rather learn how to do independent research and study how organisms came to be the way they are, rather than learn how to treat sick animals. It was those undergraduate experiences that really turned Hannah on to the excitement of a career as a PhD doing research and teaching at the university level.

After receiving her PhD degree in 1983, Dr. Carey went on to do her postdoctoral training, first at University of Nevada and then across country at Ohio State University. It was during that time that she returned to studying physiology. She was able to integrate her ecological/evolutionary training with physiology and soon came to realize that physiology was her true intellectual home. 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 she feels that she has now come full circle, with her primary appointment 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.

Her teaching responsibilities include teaching physiology (both gastrointestinal and renal) to first-year veterinary students and training graduate students in her lab, both Masters and PhD candidates. She also trains undergraduates who want to do research during their college years.

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 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 task force to determine how best to publicize the APS and its members’ research. One outcome of that task force was the establishment 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 doing outreach. She makes presentations to the public about her research, careers in science, and issues related to the use of animals in biomedical research. She has spoken at elementary and middle schools, senior citizen’s groups, and community groups (e.g., Rotary Clubs). This fall (2005), she was 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.

Recent Publications
Alexander, A.N., and H.V. Carey. Involvement of PI-3 kinase in IGF-I stimulation of jejunal Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity and nutrient absorption. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 280: G222-G280, 2001.

van Breukelen, F. and H.V. Carey.  Ubiquitin conjugate dynamics in the gut and liver of hibernating ground squirrels.  J. Comp. Physiol. B 172: 269-273, 2002.

Carey, H.V., C.A. Rhoads and T.Y. Aw.  Hibernation induces glutathione redox imbalance in ground squirrel intestine.  J. Comp. Physiol. B 173:269-276, 2003.

Carey, H.V., M.T. Andrews and S.L. Martin. Mammalian hibernation: cellular and molecular responses to depressed metabolism and low temperature. Physiol. Rev. 83: 1153-1181, 2003.

Lindell, S.L., Klahn, S.L., Piazza, T.M., Mangino, M.J., Torrealba, J.R., Southard, J.H. and H. V. Carey. Natural resistance to liver cold ischemia-reperfusion injury associated with the hibernation phenotype. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 288:G473-G480, 2005.

Fleck, C. and H.V. Carey. Modulation of apoptotic pathways in intestinal mucosa during hibernation. Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol 289: R586--R595, 2005.