American Physiological Society Announces 2024 Award Recipients

Rockville, Md. (March 21, 2024)—The American Physiological Society (APS) is pleased to announce the recipients of the Society’s most prestigious and highly competitive awards. Awardees will be recognized for their achievements at the American Physiology Summit, APS’ flagship annual meeting, to be held April 4–7, 2024, in Long Beach, California.

Sadis Matalon, PhD, ScD, FAPS, the Alice McNeal Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology and a distinguished professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, is the 2024 recipient of the Physiology in Perspective: The Walter B. Cannon Award. The Cannon lecture is the most prestigious award that APS bestows and recognizes the lifetime achievement of an outstanding physiological scientist and APS member. Matalon’s lecture, “The Long Road to Ithaca: A Physiologist’s Journey,” will be presented on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 2:55 p.m. PDT, in the Long Beach Convention Center, Grand Ballroom 2.

Steven A. Romero, PhD, an associate professor in the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s Department of Physiology and Anatomy, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lectureship for early-career achievement. The Bowditch award recognizes original and outstanding accomplishments in the field of physiology and is given to an APS member younger than 42 or who is fewer than eight years from the start of their first faculty or staff research scientist position beyond postdoctoral training. Romero’s lecture, “Cardiovascular Adjustments after Acute Heat Exposure: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications,” will be presented on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 2 p.m. PDT, in the Long Beach Convention Center, Grand Ballroom 2.

Read more about Matalon and Romero.

Gerald I. Shulman, MD, PhD, FAPS, the George R. Cowgill Professor of Physiological Chemistry at Yale School of Medicine and co-director of Yale Diabetes Research Center, is the 2024 recipient of the Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award. The award honors an APS member who has made outstanding contributions to physiological research and demonstrated dedication and commitment to mentorship. Shulman will give a virtual talk titled “Reflections on Mentoring” on May 23, 2024. 
  
  

Hendrikus “Henk” L. Granzier, PhD, the Allan and Alfie Norville Endowed Chair in Women’s Heart Disease and a professor at the University of Arizona, is the recipient of the 2024 Annual Marion J. Siegman Lectureship. The award recognizes an established investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the understanding of muscle contraction and motility. Granzier will give a talk titled “Titin: A Big Protein with Big Responsibilities” at the American Physiology Summit on April 4, at 1 p.m. PDT, in Long Beach Convention Center Room 202.

The following awardees will be recognized at a ceremony at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, April 5, at 4:15 p.m. PDT, on the PhysioHub Discovery Stage:

Joseph Santin, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Missouri, for the Beverly Petterson Bishop Award for Excellence in Neuroscience

Matthew Fogarty, DVM, PhD, assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic, for the Giles F. Filley Memorial Award for Excellence in Respiratory Physiology and Medicine

Brandi Wynne, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Utah, for the Lazaro J. Mandel Young Investigator Award, which recognizes a researcher in the field of epithelial or renal physiology

Nathaniel Jenkins, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Iowa, for the Shih-Chun Wang Young Investigator Award, which recognizes a researcher in the physiological sciences
  

Noha Shawky, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, for the Dean Franklin Young Investigator Award, which recognizes a researcher performing in vivo physiological research and establishing an independent laboratory. The Dean Franklin award is sponsored by Harvard Bioscience.

The John F. Perkins Jr. Research Career Enhancement Award allows an early-career researcher to obtain special training or for an established researcher to develop new skills or retrain in areas of developing interest. This year’s recipients are:

• Carmen De Miguel, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Jeremy Kellawan, PhD, associate professor at the University of Oklahoma 
• Danielle Kirkman, PhD, assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University
• Clintoria R. Williams, PhD, associate professor at Wright State University 

The Teaching Career Enhancement Award allows an educator to develop innovative and potentially widely applicable programs for teaching and learning physiology. This year’s recipients are:

• Steven J. Elmer, PhD, associate professor at Michigan Technological University
• Daniela Terson de Paleville, PhD, associate professor at the University of Louisville

APS also honors members of its 12 system-based sections with distinguished lectureships. Meet the 2024 distinguished lecturers.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: For more information, please contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find research highlights in the APS Newsroom. 

Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.