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Irving Zucker, PhD, FAHA, FAPS

Irving Zucker, PhD, FAPS

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Irving H. Zucker, PhD, FAHA, FAPS, is the Theodore F. Hubbard Professor of Cardiovascular Research in the department of cellular and integrative physiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physiology—Heart and Circulatory Physiology. He is also an APS past president. He has been an APS member since 1975.

APS members are doing amazing things. We asked Irving Zucker, PhD, FAPS—one of our esteemed member-researchers—to tell us about his research and its implications on our understanding of life and health. He also discusses some of the things he loves to do outside of the lab.

What do you do?

I study the interaction between the heart and the nervous system. My lab tries to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control heart function by the sympathetic nervous system. We investigate how antioxidants control this nervous activity and, ultimately, heart function and blood pressure. We use a variety of techniques and animal models to understand how these processes relate to humans.

Give it context.

Our studies are important to understand the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease including heart failure and hypertension. This work will uncover new targets for therapy and ultimately reduce mortality and suffering from cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of Americans. These mechanisms may also have relevance to other diseases that rely on abnormalities in antioxidant proteins.

What would you be doing if not science? Describe your passion.

There are several things I love. I love to cook…and eat. I love to travel and interact with people in a variety of cultures. I love to understand what motivates people to do what they do!