François Abboud

Abstract

See Editor’s Preamble, p 418 Francois Abboud How the central nervous system receives signals from the peripheral circulation and then regulates cardiac output and vascular resistance accordingly has been the focus of Francois Abboud’s research for several decades. His contributions to this large field began with investigations at the integrated systems level.1–4 But, work soon progressed to the molecular and genetic level, with Abboud’s particular focus being the form and function of baroreceptor neurons.5–9 As Abboud explained in a recent interview, however, research is just one third of his professional passion. He is also, in equal parts, a dedicated physician and mentor. Abboud, who is Professor of Medicine, Molecular Physiology, and Biophysics, and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Iowa, has been living in the United States since 1955, but he was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. Abboud spoke to Circulation Research about the Egypt he remembers, his move to the United States, and his career in cardiology ever since. Where do I begin? My mother ran a private school at our house. The school was on the first level, and we lived on the second and third floor. My mother worked very hard and managed both the school and our household. She actually hired my father and one of her brothers to teach. My father was an English teacher and had a second job with the telephone company, but wanted to continue to pursue graduate education. So, when I was going to medical school he was going to Journalism School at the University of Cairo. We often met as students on campus. After his graduation, he became an editor at the major Egyptian newspaper, Al Ahram . In our house there was also my sister and my 3 …