Dr. John Hall celebrates 50 years of research, teaching at UMMC

Published on Monday, September 16, 2024

By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu

Photos By: Joe Ellis and Jay Ferchaud/ UMMC Communications

Fifty years ago, Dr. John E. Hall came to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for postdoctoral studies, planning to stay for a couple of years. Instead, he joined the Medical Center faculty.

Hall, the Arthur C. Guyton Professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, drove a rented moving truck to Mississippi after earning a PhD from Michigan State University. His wife Becky followed in their 1967 Volkswagen.

What attracted him to Mississippi was the atmosphere of learning through research cultivated by Dr. Arthur Guyton, chair of physiology.

“As we were driving down I-55, we stopped, and I said (to Becky), ‘I promise we’ll be here no more than two years,’” he said during a 2019 interview with the American Physiological Society.

Two years turned into 50 and counting. “The main reason that we stayed was just that we found (Mississippi) to be a tremendous place not only to live and raise a family but also a tremendous place to work,” Hall said. “Probably the most important factor that kept me here was the steady stream of outstanding people we had to work with. ... There have been 10 presidents of the American Physiological Society, and Dr. Guyton trained five of them. We have three former presidents and one president-elect of the American Physiological Society at the university now. And many more of our colleagues at UMMC have been leaders of other professional organizations, such as the American Heart Association, and internationally recognized for their research as well as for training the next generation of researchers.”

Hall followed Guyton as department chair in 1989. “Before and after becoming chair, what kept me in Mississippi was the people and the research. When you have a really great group of people to work alongside, it makes life better, as does doing what you enjoy.”

A preeminent scholar and researcher in cardiovascular and renal physiology, hypertension and obesity, Hall is also director of the Mississippi Center for Obesity Research and director of the Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Cardiorenal and Metabolic Diseases. From 2005 to 2013, Hall was the Medical Center’s associate vice chancellor for research.

An undergraduate interest in journalism and English at Kent State University translated into Hall’s ability to make the complex understandable, whether it be the more than 600 research articles he’s written or the more than 25 books he’s authored or co-authored. One of those, the Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, is in its 14^th edition since its first printing in 1956. The text is used by medical schools around the world and has been translated into 24 languages.

Hall has been editing and updating the classic physiology text for 35 years, taking up where Guyton left off. The latest version was edited by Hall and his son, Dr. Michael E. Hall, Lehan Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine.

“It was a good opportunity for Michael, and I was glad to get some help,” Hall said. “It’s a lot of work and his clinical knowledge has been very helpful.”

Dr. Michael Hall contributed to chapters on the heart, “which is really his area of expertise.”

The younger Dr. Hall has treasured working alongside his father, who he calls his “biggest mentor and professional role model.”

"He has always advocated for finding a career that you are passionate about and he has clearly loved being a physiologist and working here at UMMC,” Dr. Michael Hall said. “From working off summer camps in the physiology lab to collaborating with him on research projects as a fellow and faculty member, I have had many opportunities to witness his excitement for discovery and mentorship.  We are proud of his tremendous impact on advancing cardiovascular and metabolic science internationally but are also very thankful for the positive impact he has had on many people here at UMMC.”

Over the years, Hall has served as physiology chair during the administrations of five vice chancellors: Dr. LouAnn Woodward, Dr. James E. Keeton, Dr. Daniel W. Jones, Dr. A. Wallace Conerly and Dr. Norman C. Nelson. “I’ve really had a good relationship with all five of them,” he said. “The support of their administrations also made the Medical Center where I wanted to be.”

Woodward, the Medical Center’s current vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, said Hall’s dedication and excellence as a scientist, educator and leader are hallmarks of his years at UMMC.

“Dr. Hall’s extraordinary service has not only shaped the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at UMMC but has profoundly impacted countless lives, embodying the true spirit of our medical center's mission,” she said.

Dr. Joey Granger, professor of physiology and biophysics and a longtime colleague, said Hall has created a legacy of excellence in research, education and service.

“I cannot think of anyone who has had a greater impact on the various missions of UMMC over the last 40 years," Granger said. “His leadership as chair of physiology has resulted in a department that perennially ranks in the top 5% in the country. As associate vice chancellor for research, he established progressive and impactful research enhancement programs that have had a long-lasting impact on our research mission. His own research on the physiological basis of cardiovascular disease has been recognized by numerous national and international organizations.”

Stephanie Lucas, director of research operations for the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has worked alongside Hall for two decades. “His work ethic and commitment to excellence are extraordinary,” she said. “I am forever grateful for his mentorship and leadership.”

Hall’s research has been funded continuously by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute since 1975, and he has served as director of a National Institutes of Health Program Project grant for 30 years. Hall is former editor-in-chief of Hypertension and The American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. He is a past president of the American Physiological Society and the Inter-American Society of Hypertension (ASH) and chaired the Committee of Scientific Councils and the Council for High Blood Pressure Research of the American Heart Association (AHA). He also has served on the executive committees of the American Society of Hypertension, the International Society of Hypertension, the International Union of Physiological Sciences and on the AHA National Board of Directors.

As Hall’s achievements grew, so did the UMMC campus in Jackson, which was 19 years old when he arrived.

“The campus we have now is unrecognizable from 1974,” said Hall, who is based in the Arthur C. Guyton Research Complex, opened in 2009. “We have great people, and now we also have great facilities.”

Training the next generation of researchers and health care professionals has been a focus for Hall since he joined the UMMC faculty in 1975. He has mentored more than 150 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and medical student researchers and was inducted into the Norman C. Nelson Order for Teaching Excellence at UMMC. In 2022, Hall was chosen by UMMC students to deliver the Last Lecture.

Based on a format made popular by Carnegie Mellon University’s Dr. Randy Pausch, UMMC’s Last Lecture allows educators to impart lessons they’d share if they knew it was their last opportunity.

“I knew I wasn’t going to speak on physiology or research,” Hall said. Instead, he imparted insights on luck, life and a concept called ikigai. A Japanese term for life’s purpose, ikigai is found at the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for and what the world needs.

“The world needs you if you’re a researcher; it needs you if you are a clinician; it needs you if you’re any type of health care professional or serving health care professions,” he told medical students in the lecture. “... Focus on what is important to your purpose and where you can make a difference.”

UMMC is where Hall has consistently made a difference, at the intersection of his passion and purpose.