Donal O'Leary, Ph.D.
Donal O'Leary, Ph.D.
Position
Professor and Director of Cardiovascular ResearchAreas of interest
Cardiovascular physiology
Narrative bio
To the School of Medicine Family:
I am saddened to report that Donal O’Leary, Ph.D., a longtime professor and director of Cardiovascular Research in the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology, died last month. He was 68.
A cardiovascular physiologist interested in the integrative control of the cardiovascular system at rest and during stress, Dr. O’Leary's research was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for 31 years. He focused on understanding the neural and hormonal mechanisms that control arterial blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, regional blood flow and autonomic nerve activity at rest during stresses such as exercise, and how these mechanisms are altered in heart failure, hypertension and other diseases.
He joined the School of Medicine faculty as an assistant professor of Physiology in 1989 and was named a professor in 1999. He was appointed director of Cardiovascular Research for the department in 2000.
Dr. O’Leary was elected a fellow of the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiological Society in 1995. He also was a member of the American College of Sports Medicine.
He mentored many medical and post-graduate students. His teaching prowess was recognized with the School of Medicine Academic Excellence Award. He received the WSU President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1998, and the School of Medicine College Teaching Award five times.
Dr. O’Leary served on numerous department, school and university committees during his career, as well as on the editorial boards of many prestigious journals, and numerous NIH study sections and review panels. His research was widely published.
He received his bachelor’s degree in Zoology and Chemistry from Miami University (Ohio) in 1980, and his doctoral degree in Physiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1986. He performed post-graduate training as a senior fellow in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington.
Please join me in keeping Dr. O’Leary’s family in your thoughts and prayers.
Wael Sakr, M.D.
Dean
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Laboratory website
Publications
A complete list of Dr. O'Leary's publications can be found at PubMed-O'Leary