Eric P. Widmaier received his Ph.D. in 1984 in Endocrinology from the University of
California at San Francisco. His postdoctoral training was in endocrinology and physiology at the
Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, and The Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.
His research is focused on the control of body mass and metabolism in mammals, the mechanisms
of hormone action, and the postnatal development of mature adrenal gland function. He is
currently Professor of Biology at Boston University, where he has recently been recognized with
the Gitner Award for Distinguished Teaching in Systems Physiology, Comparative Physiology,
and General Endocrinology. He is the author of numerous scientific and lay publications,
including books about physiology for the general reader. He lives outside Boston with his wife,
Maria, and children, Ricky and Carrie.
Hershel Raff received his Ph.D. in Environmental Physiology from Johns Hopkins University in
1981 and did postdoctoral training in Endocrinology at the University of California at San Francisco.
He is now a Professor of Medicine (Endocrine) and Physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin
and Director of the Endocrine Research Laboratory at St. Luke’s Medical Center. At the Medical
College of Wisconsin, he teaches systems physiology and neuroendocrinology to medical and graduate
students. He was an inaugural inductee into the Society of Teaching Scholars, and he recently
received the Beckman Basic Science Teaching Award from the Senior Class and the Outstanding
Teacher Award from the Graduate Student Association. He also teaches at Marquette University,
where he is an adjunct professor, and at the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) where he is a
clinical professor. Dr. Raff ’s basic research focuses on the effects of low oxygen (hypoxia) at the
organismal, cellular, and molecular levels. His clinical interest focuses on developing new methods to
diagnose pituitary and adrenal diseases, with a special focus on Cushing’s syndrome. His hobby is
playing a variety of musical instruments including the piano, guitar, and bass. He resides outside
Milwaukee with his wife, Judy, and son, Jonathan.
Kevin T. Strang received his Master’s in Zoology (1988) and his Ph.D. in Physiology (1994) from
the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His research area is cellular mechanisms of contractility
modulation in cardiac muscle. He teaches a large undergraduate systems physiology course as well as
first-year medical physiology in the UW-Madison Medical School. He was elected to UW-Madison’s
Teaching Academy and serves on the executive commitee of the Center for Biology Education. Recent
awards include the UW Medical Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Basic
Sciences, and the University of Wisconsin System’s Underkoffler/AlliantEnergy Excellence in
Teaching Award. Interested in teaching technology, Dr. Strang has created an interactive CD-ROM
tutorial called “Anatomy of a Heart Attack,” and he has produced a number of animations for
teaching complex physiological processes. He lives in Madison with his wife, LeeAnn, and children,
Jake and Amy.