Dr. Meredith Hay Elected President of the American Physiological Society
Dr. Hay seeks to advance physiology’s brand and increase students’ awareness of physiology as a discipline.
Meredith Hay, PhD
Meredith Hay, PhD, professor of physiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, and a faculty member of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, has been elected president of the American Physiological Society for 2019-2020.
Dr. Hay is internationally known for her work in cardiovascular neurobiology and was one of the first scientists to look at the role of sex differences in the development of hypertension. Her studies helped establish guidelines to include gender differences in the treatment of high blood pressure. Dr. Hay’s research has continuously been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other sources for the past 26 years.
Dr. Hay also has extensive national experience in university administration and interdisciplinary research program development. Prior to coming to the University of Arizona in 2008 as executive vice president and provost, Dr. Hay was the vice president for research for the University of Iowa, where she worked with state and federal lawmakers, private-sector representatives, and community groups to broaden both private and public support for research universities.
An active member of APS for three decades, Dr. Hay chaired its finance committee and was elected an APS fellow. She has served on the membership and education committees and on the editorial board for the American Journal of Physiology — Heart and Circulatory Physiology. She also is an active member of the Society of Neuroscience, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and has served on numerous editorial boards of prestigious scientific journals and grant review panels for the National Institutes of Health and the National American Heart Association.
Founded in 1887, APS is one of the original scientific societies in the United States. supporting research, education and distribution of information in the physiological sciences. APS peer-reviewed publications are among the most respected and frequently cited in the world.
“Physiology is my home discipline and the APS is my home society. I am honored to help the society continue to fulfill its mission of fostering education and scientific research,” Dr. Hay said.
One of Dr. Hay’s goals as APS president is to advance physiology’s brand and increase students’ awareness of physiology as a discipline.
“Physiology education primarily has been a component of medical education. However, students’ interest in physiology as a scientific discipline is on the rise,” she said. “The UA physiology undergraduate program is the largest in the country and has one of the highest student enrollments at the UA. Physiology is an excellent launching pad for a variety of careers in science and medicine. The UA Department of Physiology in a position to drive this trend for Arizona and the nation.”
A Texas native, Dr. Hay earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado, Denver; her master’s degree in neurobiology from the University of Texas at San Antonio; and her doctorate in cardiovascular pharmacology from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. She trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the Cardiovascular Center at the University of Iowa College of Medicine and in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She was a tenured faculty member at the University of Missouri-Columbia from 1996-2005. Prior to that, she was a faculty member in the Department of Physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio.
Dr. Hay is president and founder of a Tucson biotechnology company, ProNeurogen, Inc., a preclinical and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops a novel drug to treat memory loss associated with cardiovascular diseases and non-Alzheimer's related dementias. She also is a professor in the UA Department of Psychology, and a member of the UA Sarver Heart Center and the UA BIO5 Institute.
About the UA College of Medicine – Tucson
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is shaping the future of medicine through state-of-the-art medical education programs, groundbreaking research and advancements in patient care in Arizona and beyond. Founded in 1967, the college boasts more than 50 years of innovation, ranking among the top medical schools in the nation for research and primary care. Through the university’s partnership with Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country, the college is leading the way in academic medicine. For more information, visit medicine.arizona.edu