Dr. Philip W. Landfield
Dr. Philip W. Landfield recently passed away after a distinguished career characterized by significant scientific achievements, exceptional mentorship and enduring professional relationships with colleagues in the field. His notable academic research career spanned more than 45 years. He earned his PhD with Dr. James McGaugh at the University of California, Irvine, in the first-ever established department of neuroscience. Faculty positions followed at UC Irvine and the Wake Forest School of Medicine before he joined the University of Kentucky.
Dr. Landfield was recruited to the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine in 1991 as Chair and Professor of the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences (formerly Molecular and Biomedical Pharmacology). He served as chair until 2012 and during this time the department witnessed tremendous growth in all of its academic missions. Upon stepping down as chair, he continued to pursue the research and mentoring he so much enjoyed.
“Pioneer” is a word which aptly describes Dr. Landfield and he is well recognized for his work in the fields of stress, brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Landfield sought to understand the basic mechanisms of brain aging and what distinguishes healthy from unhealthy brain aging. His body of published work is very widely cited and has appeared in journals such as Science and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Landfield was also the first recipient of the National Institute on Aging Nathan W. Shock Memorial Lectureship established to recognize researchers who have made significant contributions in aging research and with great potential to continue contributing to the field. He received additional recognition for his numerous contributions to the field when he was honored as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Dr. Landfield’s success is also represented by his continuously well-funded research program. He was the Principal Investigator on NIH MERIT and NIH Program Project Grants that were each renewed for additional cycles. These and other extramurally funded research programs helped support groundbreaking research and provided countless opportunities to facilitate the careers of many early-career faculty and trainees. The University of Kentucky, and his many proteges, are deeply appreciative of the outstanding contributions and leadership provided by Dr. Philip Landfield.
