Gabor Kaley, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Physiology, was among the longest sitting chairmen of physiology in the nation. Dr. Kaley was born in Budapest Hungary in 1926. The son of a noted Hungarian otolaryngologist and university professor, whose patients included a large number of opera singers; from his father Dr. Kaley acquired his love of opera and music. His ambition and plan to follow in his father's footsteps were cruelly interrupted by the Second World War. After surviving internment in a Yugoslavian slave labor camp, he completed two years of medical school at Peter Pazmany University in Budapest, followed by a third year at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. He then decided to seek his future in America but was unable to continue his medical education here.
After receiving a B.S. in biology from Columbia University in 1950, he was drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in the Korean War. He subsequently earned an M.S. in physiology and a Ph.D. in experimental pathology at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine in 1960. There he conducted his thesis work and found his love of the microcirculation under Dr. Benjamin Zweifach, considered the father of the study of microcirculation. From 1962 to 1964, he served as instructor and assistant professor of pathology at NYU School of Medicine. In 1964 he joined the faculty at New York Medical College, where he helped to establish the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences. He served as chairman of the Department of Physiology for 37 years.
Dr. Kaley is the quintessential microcirculationist. Dr. Kaley's philosophy of science was stated by his former teacher and fellow Hungarian, Albert Szentgyorgyi, who said that "A good scientist has to see what everybody sees and think what nobody else has thought".
Widely recognized as one of the most distinguished physiologists in the United States, Dr. Kaley has given invited lectures worldwide and served on the editorial board of numerous journals. He has served as an associate editor of three important journals: the American Journal of Physiology (Heart and Circulatory Physiology), Microcirculation, and Prostaglandins. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Heart Association, the American Physiological Society (APS), the European Society for Microcirculation, and the Microcirculatory Society, among others. He is a Fellow in the AHA and the Cardiovascular Section of the APS.
During his career Dr. Kaley has written more than 200 articles, including one that was cited by Current Contents as a seminal article leading to the discovery of the biological role of prostaglandins and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He has also edited an authoritative three-volume monograph on Microcirculation. In 1991, Dr. Kaley and his team of investigators were awarded a Program Project Grant by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for endothelial research as it relates to vascular function. The grant has been renewed four times.
Dr. Kaley has been a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since 1982. He was awarded the Semmelweis Medal for his contributions to the understanding of microcirculation. He received the Eugene M. Landis Award from the Microcirculatory Society in 1994, and in 1998 he was selected as the George E. Brown Memorial Lecturer by the Council on Circulation of the American Heart Association. In 2000, he was the recipient of the Carl J. Wiggers Award of the American Physiological Society. In 2003, he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the honorary medical society. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology. in 2002. Dr. Kaley was chairman of the APS Public Relations Committee (1990-1993) and was a member of the council of the Microcirculatory Society (1985-1988). Dr. Kaley is a long standing member of the Woods Hole Corporation. In 2006, he was named an Eminent Physiologist by the APS in recognition of his outstanding achievements in research, education and service that have significantly advanced the discipline and profession of physiology. Dr. Kaley has sponsored a large number of Ph.D. and Masters students.
Dr. Kaley has made significant contributions in our understanding of: a) the role of prostaglandins in vascular regulation, b) the evolutionary appearance of the renin-angiotensin system, c) mechanisms of pressure and flow (shear stress) in the control of the microcirculation, d) the role of nitric oxide in the physiologic and pathologic control of the circulation; e) gender dependent control of resistance arteries, f) identification and actions of EDHF in the microcirculation, and most recently, g) the consequences of aging and diabetes in the microcirculation.
A videotaped interview with Dr. Kaley about his life, scholarly achievements, research contributions, leadership attainments and honors, and vision for the future of physiology is included in the archival history of the APS.
Dr. Kaley and his wife of 39 years, Dr. Harriette Kaley, live in Manhattan. He is the father of two children and has two grandchildren.
Thomas H. Hintze, Ph.D. Irving H. Zucker, Ph.D. Professor and Chairman Theodore F. Hubbard Department of Physiology Professor of Cardiovascular Research New York Medical College Chair, Cellular and Integrate Physiology Valhalla, NY 10595 President American Physiological Society University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, Nebraska