FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Communications and Marketing

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu, or

Dena Owens – (901) 448-4072, dowens10@uthsc.edu

 

 

Department of Physiology at

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Ranks 3^rd in North America

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Memphis, Tenn. (February 7, 2011) – The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is pleased to announce that its Department of Physiology is now ranked third among 186 departments of physiology in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.  The ranking is developed through an annual survey of the American Physiological Society (APS) and is based on an institution’s research dollars, number of faculty and amount of research space.  With 19 full-time faculty members and a budget of more than $16 million, the faculty generates an average of $586,499 per member.  The department moved up from seventh place in the 2009 APS ranking. 

Gabor Tigyi, MD, PhD, Harriet Van Vleet Professor and chair of the UTHSC Department of Physiology, believes the higher ranking is a result of the faculty attracting seven new grant awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act infused the NIH with a one-time grant of approximately $8 billion to fuel exceptional scientific endeavors aimed at improving the length and quality of life of U.S. citizens.

“We are extremely gratified for the recognition among our peers,” said Dr. Tigyi in response to the new ranking.  “Our department has consistently been among the top10 in the ranking for many years, definitive proof of the long-standing excellence and extraordinary accomplishments of our team.”

"It takes immense dedication to continuously thrive as one of the top departments of physiology on this continent,” said UTHSC Chancellor Steve Steve J. Schwab, MD.  “It is also important to note that our graduate students frequently assign high ranks to the medical physiology course and consistently honor Physiology faculty for their excellent teaching skills,” he added.

Research in the UTHSC Department of Physiology is focused on vascular biology, electrophysiology, corneal discoveries, respiratory epithelial biology and gastrointestinal mucosal biology.  The department offers an interdisciplinary curriculum to teach graduate students basic science courses and its Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program (IBSP) allows graduate students to train in faculty laboratories at UTHSC, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the Veteran Affairs Medical Center.  The IBSP includes tracks in molecular, cellular and systems physiology; cancer and developmental biology; cell biology and biochemistry; genetics; functional genomics and proteomics; neuroscience, and molecular therapeutics and cell signaling.  The department’s postdoctoral fellows are published in top-tier journals and succeed in gaining faculty positions or careers in government or the private sector, including Fortune 500 companies such as Pfizer, Merck, and EMD Serono Inc.  Recent graduates have held postdoctoral positions in top research institutions, including Yale University, Scripps Research Institute, and Harvard University. 

Currently, the Department of Physiology has a team of nearly 100 among faculty, staff and students, and will hire new faculty in the near future.  UTHSC is in the planning stages for the new Translational Science Research Building, which will be the new home for the department’s investigators.  The department has expanded its state-of-the-art equipment to include:  a Zeiss 5 LIVE confocal microscope, a Perkin Elmer MicroBeta counter, a Zeiss 710 NLO multiphoton microscope, and a TECAN Genios Pro microplate reader.  To learn more about the UTHSC Department of Physiology, visit: http://physio1.uthsc.edu.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrates its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

 

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