UC Approves New Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology

The University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees at its meeting this morning has approved the creation of the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology in the College of Medicine. The new unit is effective July 1, 2017, and is the result of a merger of the Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. All faculty in the two former departments will be transferred to the new unit.

Robert Highsmith, PhD, will serve as interim chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology until a permanent chair is found. Dr. Highsmith has been serving since Sept. 14, 2014, as interim chair of both of the departments of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics and Molecular and Cellular Physiology.

The new Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology will include 23 full-time faculty members and more than $13 million in grant funding. 

"Coming together as one with like scientific and educational expertise, the researchers in this exciting new department will be stronger and better positioned to continue a legacy of discovery," says William Ball, MD, Dean of the College of Medicine and senior vice president for health affairs. "These faculty use state-of-the art techniques to illuminate both normal and pathological physiology and their expertise in the new department includes a broad range of disciplines ranging from traditional physiology to computational modeling of complex systems." 

"Students in the College of Medicine will continue to benefit from extraordinary basic science instruction from faculty in the department. I want to thank Dr. Highsmith for his continued leadership and share my appreciation for the active involvement and thoughtful input of faculty throughout this deliberative process," explains Ball.

The search for a permanent chair is now underway and led by Sean Davidson, PhD, professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.