CVM Professor of Pharmacology Named One of NC State University’s 125 Transformational Women

Dr. Christine McGahan, College of Veterinary Medicine professor of pharmacology, has been named by the Council on the Status of Women at North Carolina State University as one of the NC State’s 125 Transformational Women.

Part of the university’s 125^th anniversary activities, the honor celebrates the contributions and accomplishments of NC State women since 1887. Dr. McGahan and  other attending honorees were recognized at the Council’s annual Sisterhood Dinner.

Dr. McGahan, who heads the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, is recognized for her research scholarship and administrative leadership. In 1983 Dr. McGahan received a New Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health and has enjoyed continuous NIH funding ever since.

An expert in ocular physiology and pharmacology, Dr. McGahan studies the biochemistry of the ocular lens and retina. This involves investigations into the regulation of iron metabolism in the eye, mechanisms underlying post-surgical regrowth of lens tissue, uveitis, retinal physiology and pathology, free radical damage in ocular inflammation, and studies of retinal cell biology related to retinal degenerations.

Dr. McGahan received her doctorate in pharmacology from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine at the City University of New York and did post-doctoral work at the Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She joined the NC State CVM in 1983, becoming interim department head in 2004 and then head of the MBS department in 2005.

The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services appointed her to the National Eye Advisory Council in 2007, and she holds the elected position of Secretary for the International Society for Eye Research. She was co-chair of the Lens and Cataract Panel for the National Eye Institute’s comprehensive 2012 report, “Vision Research: Needs, Gaps and Opportunities.”

The mission of the NC State University Council on the Status of Women is “to support equity for women, faculty, staff, and students by advocating their rights, values, and professional principles and by providing opportunities, counsel, and leadership to promote a diverse and inclusive university community.”

The Council is charged with advising the Provost on matters related to the professional development and support of all women on campus, including faculty, staff, and students.