Juming Zhong, DVM, PhD
- Professor Emeritus, Department of Anatomy, Physiology, & Pharmacology

Education

B.V.M. (equivalent to DVM in USA), January 1982, Southwest Minzu University Chengdu, P.R. CHINA
Ph.D., Physiology, May 1995, University of Missouri-Columbia, MO, USA

Biography

Dr. Zhong received his DVM from China in 1982 and his PhD in Physiology from University of Missouri in 1995. He was a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Joseph Hume and Kathleen Keef at University of Nevada School of Medicine in 1997 and was promoted to a Research Assistant Professor there in 1999. He joined the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University as an Assistant Professor in 2001 and was promoted to an Associate Professor with tenure in 2006. He was then served as a full Professor with tenure in 2016 until his honorary retirement at the end of 2022.

Research Interests

Dr. Zhong’s research interests include cardiac and vascular smooth muscle electrophysiology and pharmacology. One of the primary goals of his research is to investigate the signaling pathways underlying ion channel regulation in both cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells under normal and pathophysiological conditions. Ion channels play a center role in the excitation-contraction coupling of these cells, and thus directly control cardiac function and vascular tone. Abnormal activity of these channels directly contributes to heart diseases and abnormal blood pressure. Another primary focus of his laboratory is to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying myocardial dysfunction resulted from various pathophysiological conditions. Specifically, they try to understand the mechanisms that influence intracellular calcium homeostasis and cell contraction of cardiac myocytes taken from different animal disease models. His research was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, and other scientific foundations. He published more than fifty scientific papers in various scientific journals, and served as a reviewer for various research funding agencies and scientific journals both national and international till today.

Academic Areas

Dr. Zhong’s main teaching responsibilities include course coordinator and instruction in Basic Microanatomy of Domestic Animals (Microanatomy I), and Organology of Domestic Animal (Microanatomy II) to veterinary medical students and graduate students. He also participates in the instruction of several graduate courses both at Auburn University and a few universities. Dr. Zhong’s main teaching responsibilities include course coordinator and instruction in Basic Microanatomy of Domestic Animals (Microanatomy I), and Organology of Domestic Animal (Microanatomy II) to veterinary medical students and graduate students. He also participates in the instruction of several graduate courses both at Auburn University and a few universities.