New APS Head, Dale Benos; President-Elect Hannah Carey

Newswise — New members of the American Physiological Society's (APS) governing body will be installed in San Francisco, at the APS annual meeting April 5, held in conjunction with the Experiment Biology 2006 meeting: Advancing the Biomedical Frontier.

New 2006 APS Officers

Dale J. Benos, Ph.D. " President, 2006-2007

Benos is the Endowed Professor of Physiology and Biophysics as well as the chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The main research objective of his laboratory is elucidating the molecular basis of operation of epithelial and astrocyte ion channels and transporters.

An active APS member since 1982, Benos recently ended a six-year term as chairman of the APS Publications Committee. He has served as an Awards Committee member and chair, has been a member of the Program Advisory Committee, and has served as an APS Councilor. Benos has also served as editor of the American Journal of Physiology"Cell Physiology and is a current member of the journal's editorial board.

Benos "would like to make member activism the defining phrase of my year as APS President. Science in general and physiology in particular are at a crossroads. Never before in history have scientists possessed the tools to address so many sophisticated and important questions. If you are an APS member who wants to promote the discovery and dissemination of acquired knowledge to the scientific and lay communities, you are the kind of active participant in the Society that will help make a difference for APS and the physiological sciences."

Hannah V. Carey, Ph.D. " President-Elect, 2006-2007

Carey is a professor of comparative biosciences at the University Of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Her current research program focuses on adaptations of the gastrointestinal tract to hibernation in mammals, and the translation of hibernation-based protection to biomedical issues such as organ preservation, ischemia-reperfusion injury and hemorrhagic shock.

An active APS member since 1985, Carey has served as a member and chair of the Women in Physiology Committee, Membership Committee, GI and Liver Section Steering Committee, and the Communications Committee. She also served as an APS Councilor and as chair of the Committee on Committees. Carey served as a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology"Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology and is currently a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology" Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

Douglas C. Eaton, Ph.D. " President, 2005-2006

Eaton is a Distinguished Professor of Physiology at Emory University School of Medicine and is director of Emory's Center for Cell and Molecular Signaling. His research focuses on the process cells use to recognize and respond to external events, and how abnormalities in cellular signaling are associated with specific disease processes. Eaton also directs the FIRST Program (Fellows in Research and Science Teaching), an NIH-funded initiative that pairs Emory University with the three Atlanta minority-serving institutions, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark-Atlanta University.

Since joining APS in 1981, Eaton has been an active member, most recently serving as a Councilor and as President for 2005-2006. He has been a steering committee member and Chair of the Epithelial Transport Group, and has served as a member of the Program Advisory and Porter Physiology Development committees. Eaton has also participated in the APS Frontiers of Physiology as a research host for K-12 science teachers. He has previously been an associate editor for the American Journal of Physiology " Cell Physiology and is currently an associate editor for American Journal of Physiology " Renal Physiology.

During his tenure, the APS has developed a new Strategic Plan which will guide the Society for the next five year period. Also, in response to the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina to the Gulf coast including the Departments of Physiology at universities within the affected area, the APS sponsored a grant-in-aid program to help junior scientists recover from storm losses. Finally, the APS has begun to take a more active role in promoting to Congress and the Administration the value of biomedical research as a source of improved healthcare for all Americans.

James W. Hicks Ph.D. " APS Councilor, 2006-2009

Hicks is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California"Irvine. His research is divided among three broadly defined areas: examining evolutionary aspects of the vertebrate cardiopulmonary system with an emphasis on determining the functional role of central vascular shunts in "lower" vertebrates, studies on comparative aspects of vertebrate gas exchange with specific emphasis on the cardiopulmonary response to elevated metabolic states associated with temperature, activity and digestion; and investigating the effects of gravity on the vertebrate cardiovascular system. His laboratory provides a phylogenetic perspective into circulation and respiration and seeks to discover not only differences among organisms, but the unifying principles shared by diverse organisms. He is the chair of the APS Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section and previously served as a member of the Joint Program Committee.

Dee U. Silverthorn, Ph.D. " APS Councilor, 2006-2009

Silverthorn is a senior lecturer in Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Her bench research interest is epithelial transport but in recent years she has concentrated on the development of inquiry-based student laboratories and strategies for incorporating active learning into traditional lecture classrooms. Since joining APS in 1977, Silverthorn has served as Chair of the Teaching Section and was on the APS Archives Undergraduate Collection Development Committee and the Task Force on Animals in Education. She is currently editor-in-chief of Advances in Physiology Education.

Michael J. Wyss, Ph.D. " APS Councilor, 2006-2009

Wyss is professor of Cell Biology, Medicine, Neurobiology and Psychology and director of the Center for Community OutReach Development at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology and the Education Committee of the APS. He has also served on the CNS Section Steering Committee as secretary and chair, on the Joint Programming Committee and on the Section Advisory Committee of APS. He is also a member of the Council on Accreditation of AAALAC International.

His research includes two major areas. The first research focus is on neuronal plasticity, especially related to diseases of aging. These studies have demonstrated dynamic interplay between neuromodulators in the brain, calcium regulation by neurons and the structural alterations of neurons that occur in these age-related diseases. The second focus of his research involves the role of the central nervous system in the pathogenesis of hypertension. In these studies his group is testing the mechanisms by which a decrease in norepinephrine release in the anterior hypothalamic nucleus leads to salt-sensitive hypertension.

The American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 to foster basic andapplied bioscience. The Bethesda, Maryland-based society has more than 10,500 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals containing almost 4,000 articles annually.

APS provides a wide range of research, educational and career support and programming to further the contributions of physiology to understanding the mechanisms of diseased and healthy states. In May 2004, APS received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).