Robert A. Johnson, PhD FAHA

Professor of Preclinical SciencesPrincipal Investigator

Robert Johnson is a Professor of Preclinical Sciences at Wiliiam Carey and is the founder of the original Integrative Cardiovascular Physiology. Dr. Johnson received his Doctorate in Physiology with Ronald Freeman at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1992 and then did postdoctoral training with Alberto Nasjletti at New York Medical College. During 1998, Dr. Johnson was a Brazilian sponsored Visiting Professor studying neuro-cardiovascular integration with Eduardo Colombari at Escola Paulista de Medicina in Sao Paulo Brazil. Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Johnson accepted an appointment as an Assistant Professor with the Tulane's Department of Physiology. In 2004, Dr. Johnson was promoted to tenured Associate Professor at Tulane University. In 2006, Dr. Johnson was recruited as an Associate Professor to the Trauma and Emergency Medicine Division of the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Most recently, Dr. Johnson has settled at William Carey School of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg MS.

Dr. Johnson's major research interests include cardiovascular, renal and neurophysiology, mechanisms of hypertension, and biological roles for porphyrin and gaseous messengers. His early work demonstrated the importance of the intra-renal nitric oxide system in regulating renal function and controlling blood pressure. In subsequent studies, Dr. Johnson provided the seminal studies which provided compelling evidence that endogenously-formed carbon monoxide influences blood pressure by serving as a neuromodulator, and as a messenger within the vascular smooth muscle and the endothelium. Such studies have provided new insights into cardiovascular-regulatory mechanisms which can be altered by heavy-metal poisoning, in hypertensive models or during shock.

His research has been funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the Department of Defense and the Army. He has authored numerous publications including two reviews, and a book chapter. Dr. Johnson is a member of the American Physiological Society.

Current Curriculum Vitae

Publications

The Integrative Core Laboratory is located at William Carey