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Michael N. Sawka |
On May 2, 2007, Michael N.
Sawka succeeded Ronald L. Terjung as Chair of the Environmental and Exercise
Physiology Section. An APS member since 1979, he was on the Environmental &
Exercise Physiology (EEP) Section Advisory Committee, as Thermal Physiology
Councilor (1999-2002), served as Secretary/Treasurer (2000-2002), and EEP
representative on the Joint Program Committee (2003-2005). He serves on
editorial boards of Journal of Applied Physiology (since 1999) and American
Journal of Physiology (since 2001) and was Guest Editor (2002) of
“Highlighted Topic: Molecular Biology of Thermoregulation” for Journal of
Applied Physiology. He organized an APS Special Session: “Genomics &
Molecular Basis of Exercise & Environmental Physiology” that was a full day
meeting at EB 2001. He was a contributor to the Handbook of Physiology:
Environmental Physiology. In addition, he is active in the American College
of Sports Medicine and served on numerous panels including those for
National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, National Institutes of
Health, and United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Sawka currently holds the position of Chief, Thermal and Mountain Medicine
Division at the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM)
in Natick, MA. He was raised in eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey
and earned his BS and MS degrees from East Stroudsburg University and his
PhD degree from Southern Illinois University. After completing postdoctoral
training at Dayton VA Medical Center and serving as Assistant Professor of
Physiology at Wright State University School of Medicine he joined USARIEM
as a Research Physiologist in 1980. His research interests include
adaptation and maladaptation to environmental (heat, cold, terrestrial
altitude) stress, human performance at environmental extremes,
thermoregulation, fluid/electrolyte balance and blood volume control. His
laboratory not only conducts basic and applied research in the above areas,
but translated scientific information into medical doctrine for military
operations at environmental extremes.
As Chair, Sawka hopes to continue and build on the EEP Section’s tradition
of being responsive to its members, providing high-quality programming and
numerous award opportunities. His priorities will be to: 1) challenge
membership to increase their participation in EEP governance and APS
activities; 2) recruit new EEP members from physiologists not currently
members of APS; 3) expand financial resources to provide programming, awards
and other services to section members; 4) foster strong alliances with other
APS Sections and Groups to increase programming of interest to EEP members;
and 5) update the Section Operating Procedures. His approach will be to
develop subcommittees for each initiative that include both Steering
Committee and other EEP members wanting to become more active. He challenges
EEP members to become more active for the benefit of the Section. |
