Reckelhoff earns SEC Faculty Achievement Award

Published on Thursday, March 29, 2018

By: Karen Bascom

Dr. Jane Reckelhoff, Billy S. Guyton Distinguished Professor and chair of cell and molecular biology, is the 2018 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award winner for the University of Mississippi.

“I am truly honored to receive this recognition and am humbled to be a part of this distinguished group of scholars,” Reckelhoff said. “I extend my gratitude to those who nominated me for this distinction.”

To be eligible for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award, an individual must hold the rank of full professor at an SEC university. They must also have an extraordinary teaching record and be a nationally or internationally-recognized scholar in their field.

A graduate of the Medical College of Virginia with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, Reckelhoff joined the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1991 as an assistant professor of physiology and biophysics. She rose to the rank of full professor before becoming chair of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology in 2017.

Reckelhoff researches sex- and gender-based differences in blood pressure control and kidney function, as well as the mechanisms responsible for postmenopausal hypertension. Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1998. She is co-principal investigator on a multi-institutional award to study hypertension in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. She also serves as principal investigator on a National Institute for General Medical Sciences grant to study perinatal health and disease.

Reckelhoff is dedicated to training the next generation of biomedical scientists, mentoring students ranging from high schoolers to postdoctoral fellows. Many of her former trainees have gone on to become faculty at universities in several countries.

Reckelhoff is director of the Women’s Health Research Center and director of the Mississippi Center for Excellence in Perinatal Research at UMMC. She also served as president of the American Physiological Society in 2016.

“Dr. Reckelhoff is a distinguished scientist and teacher widely respected by her peers and loved by her students,” said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “These qualities and her outstanding leadership on our campus and in the broader scientific community make her exceptionally deserving of this honor.”

“Dr. Jane Reckelhoff helps define excellence at the University of Mississippi and we are so pleased she is being recognized and honored as an SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner,” said University of Mississippi Chancellor Dr. Jeffrey Vitter. “This recognition is a testament to her outstanding contributions as an award-winning researcher, respected academic leader, nationally-recognized health advocate and an empowering mentor.” 

Selected by a committee of SEC provosts, the Faculty Achievement Awards are part of SECU. This academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference sponsors, supports and promotes collaborative higher education programs and activities involving administrators, faculty and students at its 14 member universities.

SEC Faculty Achievement Award winners receive a $5,000 honorarium from the conference and become his or her university's nominee for the SEC Professor of the Year Award. The SEC Professor of the Year, to be named in April, receives an additional $15,000 honorarium and recognition at the SEC Awards Dinner.

Reckelhoff is the third UMMC faculty member to win the Faculty Achievement Award for the University of Mississippi. Dr. John Hall, Arthur C. Guyton Professor and Chair of physiology and biophysics, received the honor in 2014 and was later named SEC Professor of the Year. Dr. Joey Granger, professor of physiology and biophysics and dean of the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences, received the honor in 2016.