Education and Training

Dates Attended Institution Degree Major Subject / Mentor
Undergraduate
1978-1981 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL B.S., 1981 Neuroscience
Graduate
1982-1986 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL Ph.D., 1986 Neuroscience, Floyd Thompson, Ph.D.
Post Graduate
1986-1989 Rockefeller University, New York, NY Neurophysiology, Victor Wilson, Ph.D.

Appointments and Positions

Years Institution Title
1989-1990 Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY Research Associate
1990-1994 Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY Assistant Professor
1994-1998 Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Assistant Professor
1994-1998 Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professor (Secondary)
1998-2003 Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Associate Professor (with tenure)
1998-2003 Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor (Secondary)
2003-Present Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Professor (with tenure)
2003-Present Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh College of Arts and Sciences Professor (Secondary)
2020 Chancellor's Office, University of Pittsburgh Interim Vice-Chancellor for Research Protections
2021-Present Chancellor's Office, University of Pittsburgh Vice-Chancellor for Research Protections

Membership in Professional and Scientific Societies

Year Organization
1984Society for Neuroscience
1984International Brain Research Organization
1984American Physiological Society
1987American Association for Advancement of Science
1988The Bárány Society
1994Association for Research in Otolaryngology
1995New York Academy of Sciences
1996International Society of Gravitational Physiology
1996International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience
2000Neural Control of Movement Society

Honors

Awards and Recognitions

Years Award/Recognition
1981Elected to Phi Beta Kappa
1983, 1984Recipient of University of Florida Medical Guild Graduate Student Research Award
1992Irma T. Hirschl Career Research Scientist Award
1995Invited Speaker, NIH, NIDCD Council Meeting
2006-2014Associate Editor for Experimental Brain Research
2010Recipient of Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Pittsburgh
2010-2014Associate Editor, Frontiers in Respiratory Physiology
2014-2020Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Neurophysiology
2018Elected to Academy of Medical Educators, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2020-PresentEditor-in-Chief, Experimental Brain Research
2020, 2021, 2022, 2025Recipient of Excellence in Education Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2021Recipient of Kenneth E. Schuit Award, Recognizing the Dean's Master Educators

Board and Advisory Committee Appointments

Years Role
1994Member of NIH, NIDCD panel for updating the balance and balance disorders section of the National Strategic Research Plan
1996-2003Member of External Advisory Panel, National Space Biomedical Research Institute
1999-2006Member, Steering Committee of the Central Nervous System Section of American Physiological Society (Secretary-Treasurer 2002-2006)
2000-2006Member, American Physiological Society's "Committee on Committees"
2003-2005Member, International Multidisciplinary Artificial Gravity Review Team (NASA Representative)
2003-2017Member, Board of Scientific Councilors, National Space Biomedical Research Institute
2005-2007Chair, International Multidisciplinary Artificial Gravity Review Team (NASA representative)
2007-2009Member, American Physiological Society's Animal Care and Experimentation Committee
2009Peer reviewer, National Academies of Science study on Scientific and Humane Issues in the Use of Random-Source Dogs and Cats
2009-PresentMember, Board of Directors, Americans for Medical Progress
2010-2012Chair, American Physiological Society's Animal Care and Experimentation Committee
2010-2015Member, Board of Trustees, AAALAC International
2013-PresentMember, Ethics Committee for International Union of Physiological Sciences
2014Member, AAALAC Budget and Finance Committee
2014-2017Council Member (elected by Society membership), American Physiological Society
2015Member of Executive Committee, AAALAC International
2016-2017Member, National Academies of Science Committee to Review NASA's Evidence Reports on Human Health Risks
2020-2023Member, American Physiological Society's "Science Policy Committee"
2020-PresentBoard Member, Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (Representative for American Physiological Society)
2021Chair, NASA HRP/CBS Animal Standardization Technical Interchange Meeting

Grant Review Appointments

Years Role
1996, 1999-2002Member of NASA Grant Study Section
2001Member, NIH Special Emphasis Panel
2003Chair, NASA Grant Study Section for Neuroscience
2004-2005Ad Hoc Reviewer, NIH Sensorimotor Integration Study Section
2004Ad Hoc Reviewer, NIH Study Section for Fellowships in Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience (ZRG1-F02B)
2005-2008Charter ("Permanent") Member, NIH Sensorimotor Integration Study Section
2007Member of NASA/NSBRI Study Section for Postdoctoral Research Proposals
2008, 2009Chairperson, NIH Special Emphasis Panels for Auditory and Vestibular Neuroscience
2008Member, NIH Special Emphasis Panel for Training Grants in Deafness and Communication Disorders
2008External reviewer, NASA Lunar Science Institute Cooperative Agreement Solicitation
2009Member, NIH Special Emphasis Panel to Review Clinical Research Center Application
2009Member, NIH Special Emphasis Panel to Review Challenge Grants
2009Member, NIH Special Emphasis Panel in Sensory Neuroscience
2010-2012Member of NIH's "College of CSR Reviewers"
2010, 2012Member of NIH Special Emphasis Panel to Review Loan Repayment Applications
2013Member of NIH Special Emphasis Panel "Control of Breathing/Pulmonary Vascular Biology"
2013Member of NIH Special Emphasis Panel "Member Conflicts: Respiratory Diseases"
Jan, Sept. 2015Member, NIH Sensorimotor Integration Study Section (SMI)
2016Member of 4 separate NASA grant study sections
2016-2020Chartered Member, National Library of Medicine Literature Selection Committee
2017Member of NASA grant study section
2017Member of NIH Special Emphasis Panel "Translational Grants Review HB"
2017Member, NIH Sensorimotor Integration Study Section (SMI)
2018Mail Reviewer, NASA grants
2019Member of NASA grant study section
2019Member of Veteran's Administration grant study section
2020Member of NASA grant study section
2021, 2022, 2023Member of NIH Study Section "Hearing and Balance Application Review"
2021Member of two NASA grant study sections
2022Member of NIH Study Section "Member Conflict: Pain, Chemosensation and Sensory Motor Neurobiology"
2022Member of NIH Study Section "Circadian Mechanisms and Sleep"
2023Member of NIH Study Section "NIDCD Institutional Training Grants (T32-T35)"
2024Member of NASA Study Section "2024 Crew Health Step-2 Reviews"
2024Member of NIH Study Section "Education Grant Review Meeting"
2025Member of NIH Study Section "Loan Repayment Program Review"

Invited Seminars, Lectures and Workshops

Date Event/Location
Nov 1993Satellite Symposium of Society for Neuroscience Meeting: Ventral Brainstem Mechanisms for Control of Respiration and Blood Pressure, Washington, DC
Feb 1994Department of Physiology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Jan 1995Meeting of National Advisory Council of National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Bethesda, MD
Jun 1995New York Academy of Sciences Symposium: New Directions in Vestibular Research, New York, NY
Jan 1996Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
May 19961996 Conference at UCLA: Vestibular Adaptation, Los Angeles, CA
Aug 1996Bárány Society Meeting, Sydney, Australia
Aug 1996Department of Physiology, Univ. Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Aug 1996Department of Physiology, Univ. Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Mar 1997NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Apr 1997International Workshop on Neurosciences in Space, Paris, France
May 1997International Workshop on Motion Sickness, Marabella, Spain
Sep 1997NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Sep 1997Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
May 1998Department of Neurology, University College, London, U.K.
Sep 1998Bárány Society Satellite Meeting, Freiburg, Germany
Apr 2000Neural Control of Movement Meeting, Key West, FL
Jun 2000Department of Neuroscience, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Sep 2000Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT, Boston, MA
Jan 2001Department of Surgery, University of Mississippi, Jackson, MS
Jan 2001Symposium on Spatial Cognition and Anxiety, Paris Collège de France, Paris, France
Sep 2002Keynote Speaker, Sixth Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, Portland, OR
Jan 2003Department of Neurology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Dec 2003Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jun 2004Keynote Speaker, 1st International Symposium of Vestibulocochlear System, Wonkwang University, South Korea
Jun 2004Keynote Speaker, 8th Congress of the Korean Balance Society, Seoul, South Korea
Jan 2006Department of Physiology, Howard University, Washington, DC
Jun 2006General Clinical Research Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
2007-2013Faculty Member, Vestibular Rehabilitation: An Advanced Course and Update, Pittsburgh, PA
Aug 2007Neuroscience Lecture Series, University of Mississippi, Jackson, MS
Oct 2007Neuroscience Seminar Series, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Jun 2008Seminar Series, Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
Oct 2008Invited Presentation to the Committee on Scientific and Humane Issues in the Use of Random Source Dogs and Cats for Research, National Academy of Sciences
Feb 2009Seminar Series, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh
Feb 2009Invited Speaker for Symposium "Vestibular Compensation: New Clinical and Basic Science Perspectives." Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Apr 2009Breakout session presenter at 2009 PRIM&R Meeting in San Diego, CA
Dec 2009Invited speaker for 2009 SCAW meeting in San Antonio, TX
Dec 2010Invited speaker for 2010 SCAW meeting in San Antonio, TX
Dec 2010Invited speaker at University of Nebraska Medical Center
Jun 2011Invited speaker at University of Nebraska Medical Center
Aug 2011Invited speaker at meeting "U.S. and European Animal-Research Regulations: Impact on Neuroscience Research," sponsored by the Institute of Medicine
Dec 2011Invited speaker in the Department of Anatomy, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Feb 2012Invited speaker in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Mar 2014Invited speaker in the Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
May 2015Invited Speaker in the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Oct 2015Invited Speaker at the Nebraska Physiological Society Meeting
June 2016Invited Speaker and Session Chair, 2016 Barany Society Meeting, Seoul, South Korea
Dec 2016Invited Speaker in the Department of Physiology, Emory University
Aug 2017Invited Speaker for the 38th World Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Apr 2018Invited Speaker in the Department of Neurology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Apr 2018Invited Speaker for the 2018 Experimental Biology Meeting
Mar 2019Invited Speaker in the Department of Physiology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan
Mar 2019Invited Speaker for International Symposium on Living in Space, Kyoto, Japan. Sponsored by JAXA
May 2019Keynote Speaker for 2019 Vestibular-Oriented Research Meeting, Dayton, Ohio
May 2019Invited Speaker for the Second Pan-American Congress of Physiological Sciences, Havana, Cuba
Oct 2019Invited speaker for Vestibular Contributions to Health and Disease Conference, sponsored by Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Apr 2021Invited speaker for 2021 Experimental Biology Meeting
Dec 2022Invited speaker for 2022 PRIM&R Meeting
Nov 2025Speaker for two sessions at 2025 PRIM&R Meeting

Meetings and Sessions Organized

Date Event/Location
Apr 1996NIH and NASA-sponsored workshop on Vestibular Autonomic Regulation, Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 1999Meeting on "Programming Autonomic Function for Action," Club Méditerranée Conference Center, Opio, France
Nov 2000Vestibular Social at 2000 Society for Neuroscience Meeting
Apr 2001Featured Topic on "Somatic Sensation during Movement and its Role in Autonomic Control" at 2001 Experimental Biology Meeting
Jul 2004Symposium on "Vestibulo-Autonomic Regulation" at the 23rd Bárány Society International Congress, Paris, France
Apr 2010Symposium on "Trends in Animal Rights Activism and Extremism" at the 2010 Experimental Biology Meeting
Apr 2012Symposium on "Public Outreach and Animal Research: A Toolkit for Investigators" at the 2012 Experimental Biology Meeting
Oct 2013NIH-sponsored meeting "Biology and Control of Nausea and Vomiting 2013" at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 2015NIH-sponsored meeting "Biology and Control of Nausea and Vomiting 2015" at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Apr 2022Symposium on "Understanding the Threat of Foreign Influence on Research" at the 2022 Experimental Biology Meeting