Mark Nelson, Ph.D.
Chair of The Department of Pharmacology
University Distinguished Professor
Co-Director of The Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health
149 Beaumont Ave., Firestone 462
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
Professor, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, 1992-present
Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, 1993-present;
Interim Chair, Department of Pharmacology, 1995-1996;
Chair, Department of Pharmacology, 1996-present;
Professor, Department of Surgery (tertiary), 2012-present
Publications
Awards and Achievements
Louis N. Katz Research Prize for Young Investigators, Honorable Mention (American Heart Association), 1982
Established Investigator of the American Heart Association, 1985
University Scholar, University of Vermont, 1996
Distinguished Lecturer, Northwest Universities (Liverpool and Manchester), 2006
MERIT Award (R37) from the NIH (NIDDK), 2008-2019
Lamport Lecturer, Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, 2009
University Distinguished Professor, University of Vermont, 2009
5th David F. Bohr Lecture on Vascular Smooth Muscle, Symposium on Mechanisms of Vasodilatation, Japan, 2009
Astor Lecturer, Oxford University, 2011
Society of General Physiologists Traveling Scholar Award, Harvard University, 2012
Keynote Ferid Murad Lecture, 6th International Conference on cGMP, Germany, 2013
2nd Annual Kaley Lecturer, Experimental Biology Meeting, 2015
Annual Reviews Award for Scientific Reviewing, American Physiological Society, 2015
Friends of Physiology Keynote Lecture, SGP Symposium, 2015
Paul M. Vanhoutte Distinguished Lecturer in Vascular Biology, Exp. Biology 2016, 2016
Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the NIH (NHLBI), 2019-2026
NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) lecture, 2020
Keynote Lecture, Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, 2022
Marion J. Seigman Lectureship Award, American Physiological Summit, 2023
Keynote FASEB Calcium and Cell Function, Malahide, Ireland 2023
Edson X. Albuquerque Endowed Lecturer In Translational Health Sciences, University of Maryland, 2023
Peter C. Malony Lecture, John Hopkins University, 2023
Visiting Professorship, Danish Cardiovascular Academy, 2023
James O. Davis Distinguished Lecturer in Cardiovascular Science, University of Missouri, 2023
The Bjorn Folkow Plenary Lecture, Mechanisms of Vasodilation/Endothelium-Dependent Hyperpolarization Meeting, Oxford, 2024
Keynote speaker, International Conference on Spreading Depolarization, 2024
Area(s) of expertise
Research Interests
Dr. Mark Nelson is known for his research on ion channels and calcium signaling in smooth muscle and endothelial cells, particularly for his work on electrical and local calcium signaling in the brain vasculature and urinary bladder. He was born in New York City, New York and grew up in New Jersey. After graduating from Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts with a degree in Mathematics and Biology, he went to Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Neural Science with Professor Mordecai Blaustein in 1980. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and Universität Konstanz, Germany, sponsored by Professor Peter Läuger. Dr. Nelson joined the faculty of the University of Vermont in 1986 and became Chair of the Department of Pharmacology in 1995. He has a part-time Professorship at the University of Manchester and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. Dr. Nelson is a member of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vermont Academy of Sciences and Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Nelson Chairs the NIDDK Executive Steering Committee for the O'Brien Urology Cooperative Research Centers, and is a member of the NIDDK Advisory Council. His work has been recognized by the NIH with nearly thirty years of continuous funding, an NIH Merit Award, and NIH Outstanding Investigator Award, and with funding from Fondation Leducq and the European Union.
He serves on Editorial Boards for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, eLife, Journal of General Physiology, Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Journal of Smooth Muscle Research and as Co-Editor for the Annual Reviews of Physiology. Dr. Nelson has produced over 260 publications in high quality, peer reviewed journals, and mentored sixty postdocs and research faculty members.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
Louis N. Katz Research Prize for Young Investigators, Honorable Mention (American Heart Association), 1982
Established Investigator of the American Heart Association, 1985
University Scholar, University of Vermont, 1996
Distinguished Lecturer, Northwest Universities (Liverpool and Manchester), 2006
MERIT Award (R37) from the NIH (NIDDK), 2008-2019
Lamport Lecturer, Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, 2009
University Distinguished Professor, University of Vermont, 2009
5th David F. Bohr Lecture on Vascular Smooth Muscle, Symposium on Mechanisms of Vasodilatation, Japan, 2009
Astor Lecturer, Oxford University, 2011
Society of General Physiologists Traveling Scholar Award, Harvard University, 2012
Keynote Ferid Murad Lecture, 6th International Conference on cGMP, Germany, 2013
2nd Annual Kaley Lecturer, Experimental Biology Meeting, 2015
Annual Reviews Award for Scientific Reviewing, American Physiological Society, 2015
Friends of Physiology Keynote Lecture, SGP Symposium, 2015
Paul M. Vanhoutte Distinguished Lecturer in Vascular Biology, Exp. Biology 2016, 2016
Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the NIH (NHLBI), 2019-2026
NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) lecture, 2020
Keynote Lecture, Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, 2022
Marion J. Seigman Lectureship Award, American Physiological Summit, 2023
Keynote FASEB Calcium and Cell Function, Malahide, Ireland 2023
Edson X. Albuquerque Endowed Lecturer In Translational Health Sciences, University of Maryland, 2023
Peter C. Malony Lecture, John Hopkins University, 2023
Visiting Professorship, Danish Cardiovascular Academy, 2023
James O. Davis Distinguished Lecturer in Cardiovascular Science, University of Missouri, 2023
The Bjorn Folkow Plenary Lecture, Mechanisms of Vasodilation/Endothelium-Dependent Hyperpolarization Meeting, Oxford, 2024
Keynote speaker, International Conference on Spreading Depolarization, 2024
Areas of Expertise
Research Interests
Dr. Mark Nelson is known for his research on ion channels and calcium signaling in smooth muscle and endothelial cells, particularly for his work on electrical and local calcium signaling in the brain vasculature and urinary bladder. He was born in New York City, New York and grew up in New Jersey. After graduating from Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts with a degree in Mathematics and Biology, he went to Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Neural Science with Professor Mordecai Blaustein in 1980. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and Universität Konstanz, Germany, sponsored by Professor Peter Läuger. Dr. Nelson joined the faculty of the University of Vermont in 1986 and became Chair of the Department of Pharmacology in 1995. He has a part-time Professorship at the University of Manchester and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. Dr. Nelson is a member of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vermont Academy of Sciences and Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Nelson Chairs the NIDDK Executive Steering Committee for the O'Brien Urology Cooperative Research Centers, and is a member of the NIDDK Advisory Council. His work has been recognized by the NIH with nearly thirty years of continuous funding, an NIH Merit Award, and NIH Outstanding Investigator Award, and with funding from Fondation Leducq and the European Union.
He serves on Editorial Boards for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, eLife, Journal of General Physiology, Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Journal of Smooth Muscle Research and as Co-Editor for the Annual Reviews of Physiology. Dr. Nelson has produced over 260 publications in high quality, peer reviewed journals, and mentored sixty postdocs and research faculty members.
