People & Places
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Meredith Hay |
Meredith Hay, assistant to the vice president for academic affairs at the University of Missouri System, has been named the new vice president for research at the University of Iowa.
“We look forward to Professor Hay joining our team,” said David Skorton, UI president, who held the vice president for research position before assuming the presidency in 2003. “She has an outstanding combination of experiences in performing, overseeing and advocating research that will make the University of Iowa’s research program even stronger.”
Hay is a faculty member in the School of Medicine of the University of Missouri and is a past associate director for research at the University of Missouri Nuclear Research Reactor.
“Professor Hay can help move the University of Iowa forward,” said Leslie Schwalm, associate professor of history and search committee member. “She will be a dynamic, skilled and responsive leader who brings a deep commitment to the most inclusive vision of university research.”
While at Missouri, Hay established such large interdisciplinary teams as the Center for Gender Physiology and the University of Missouri Homeland Security Task Force Initiative.
As a researcher, Hay is internationally known for her work on the understanding of central nervous system mechanisms regulating blood pressure. She is currently responsible for over $2.4 million per year in external funding and is leading a multi-investigator grant from NASA to study sex differences in disease and physiology. She is also principal investigator or co-investigator on awards from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
The vice president for research provides the central leadership to the university’s research, scholarly and creative programs and reports directly to the president. Working collaboratively with faculty, staff and students, the vice president for research champions and facilitates research, scholarship and creative activity; strengthens relationships with public and private agencies that support research and other scholarly endeavors; assures the integrity of the research enterprise; advances the role of the university in economic development and technology transfer; and oversees the formulation and implementation of research-specific policies related to regulatory compliance, research integrity and intellectual property management.
Peter C. Agre to Join Duke University Medical Center as Vice Chancellor for Science and Technology
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Peter C. Agre |
Peter C. Agre, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will join Duke University Medical Center in July 2005 as vice chancellor for science and technology.
In this newly created leadership post, Agre will help guide the development of Duke’s biomedical research enterprise in ways that will further enhance its efforts to support and attract the world’s top scientists and students. In addition, Agre will lead an effort to assess health care needs on a global scale, and ensure that Duke’s research programs are positioned to address those needs.
Agre’s appointment was announced by Victor J. Dzau, chancellor for health affairs at Duke and president and CEO of the Duke University Health System.
“Peter is one of the most accomplished physician-scientists of our era,” said Dzau. “But he is even further distinguished by his passion to improve the lives of people throughout the world. His interests span not only science and medicine, but also human rights and the education of children in math and science. His world view is perfectly matched to Duke’s aspirations, and we are delighted that he will help us shape the future of this institution and medicine worldwide.”
In his role as vice chancellor for science and technology, Agre will work closely with the chancellor for health affairs, the deans of the medical and nursing schools, and with the faculty to develop strategies for the future direction of science as well as the opportunities that will be enabled by rapidly evolving technologies.
“After many years as a bench scientist, I’ve become increasingly interested in contributing to science in a broader way,” said Agre. “The work I’m about to begin at Duke will help to shape the next generation of scientists, who will determine whether our nation will continue to lead the world in science and medicine.”
In 2003, Agre shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for revealing the molecular basis for the movement of water into and out of cells. His 1992 paper in the journal Science, with Johns Hopkins physiologist Bill Guggino, documented the discovery of the first water-channel protein–called an aquaporin–which facilitates the movement of water molecules into and out of cells through the cell membrane. Since then, Agre and his colleagues have found aquaporins to be part of the blood-brain barrier and also associated with water transport in skeletal muscle, lung and kidney. Researchers worldwide now study aquaporins, and have linked aberrant water transport to many human disorders.
One of the issues Agre says he will address early on is the urgent need to improve science and mathematics education in the nation’s primary and secondary schools.
“In the 20th century, America led the world in producing important advances in medicine,” said Agre. “We spawned new industries, such as biotechnology. But today, the state of science and math education in our public schools is in crisis, and it poses a threat to America’s leadership in science. The need to reinvigorate science and math education must become a national priority.”
Benos Named First Holder of University of Alabama’s Endowed Professorship In Physiology
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Dale J. Benos |
Dale J. Benos, APS President-Elect and professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has been named the first holder of UAB’s Endowed Professorship in Physiology. The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees announced the appointment at last week’s meeting. Benos is internationally recognized for his contributions to the field of physiology and biophysics. His research focuses on better understanding the movement of sodium ions present in the membranes of surface and nerve cells. The process is relative to the progression of certain diseases such cystic fibrosis. Prior to joining UAB in 1985 as associate professor of physiology and biophysics, Benos was an associate professor of physiology and biophysics at Harvard Medical School. He was named a professor of physiology and biophysics at UAB in 1987 and appointed chair of the department in 1996. He also holds professorships in the departments of Cell Biology and Neurobiology.
Jon C. Ashmead is a Graduate Student pursuing Physical Therapy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Previously, Ashmead was a student with the Department of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Keith Baar has accepted the position as Lecturer, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom. Prior to his new position, Baar had previously been the Assistant Research Scientist, Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
David Patrick Basile is currently affiliated with the Department of Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN. Formerly, Basile was associated with the Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
Jerome W. Breslin has joined the Department of Surgery, M.I.N.D. Institute, UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA as a Postdoctoral Scholar–Fellow. Breslin had previously been a Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Surgery and Medical Physiology, Texas University Health Science Center, Temple, TX.
Mark L. Burleson has joined the Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, as a Research Fellow. Burleson was formerly an Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, TX.
Margot S. Damaser has accepted a position with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Learner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH. Damaser was previously associated with the Department of Research Service and Urology, Hines VA Hospital, Loyola University School of Medicine, Hines, IL.
Susan DeMesquita has accepted the position of Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, American University of the Caribbean, Netherlands, Antilles. Prior to her new position, DeMesquita was Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology, Ross University School of Medicine, Portsmouth, Roseau, Dominica.
Patricia Lee Gordon has moved to the Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, as an Adjunct Assistant Professor. Gordon previously had been with the Department of Nephrology, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, as a Staff Research Associate III.
Margaret J. Gutilla is currently a Student at Williams College, Williamstown, MA. Gutilla was previously a student with the Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Mark Hargreaves has affiliated with the Department of Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Prior to his new position, Hargreaves had been Professor of Exercise Physiology, Deakin University School of Health Sciences, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
Steven B. Heymsfield has accepted the position of Executive Director, Department of Clinical Research and Metabolism, Merck & Company, Rahway, NJ. Heymsfield was formerly Professor of Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, New York, NY.
Chuan Hu has affiliated with the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, West Virginia University Health Sciences Center, Morgan-town, WV. Hu was previously associated with the Department of Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
Michael Gregory Janech, an Assistant Professor, has affiliated with the Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Janech had previously been a postdoctoral student with the University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
Nikki Jernigan has affiliated with the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. Jernigan was formerly associated with the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
Dennis William Koch recently has affiliated with Canisius College, Buffalo, NY as a Graduate Student. Koch previously was associated with the Department of Physiology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
Bryan Mackenzie recently moved to the Department of Molecular & Cellular Physiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH. Mackenzie was previously affiliated with Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Department of Medicine and Membrane Biology Program, Boston, MA.
Marli Cardoso Martins Pinge has been appointed Adjunct Professor, State University of Londrina, Brazil. Pinge was previously a postdoctoral student, Department of Veterinary Biomed Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.
Ronald Otterstetter recently moved to the Department of Sport Science and Wellness Education, The University of Akron, Akron, OH. Otterstetter previously was associated with the School of Exercise, Leisure, and Sports, Kent State University, Kent, OH.
R. Dustan Sarazan is the Director of Safety Pharmacology, Covance Laboratories, Inc., Madison, WI. Prior to his new position, Sarazan was the Senior Research Scientist, Department of Cardiovascular Toxicology, Lilly Research Labs, Eli Lilly and Company, Greenfield, IN.
Sarah Y. Yuan is currently the Pearl Stamps Stewart Professor and Director of Research, Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA. Yuan previously held the position of Professor, Department of Surgery and Medical Physiology, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Temple, TX.
Weirong Zhang has affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX. Zhang previously was affiliated with the Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Noah Paul Zimmerman is presently a Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Marine Science, University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS. Zimmerman was previously affiliated with the Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.