Alumni and colleagues reflect on professor Warren Darling's unwavering commitment to the Department of Health and Human Physiology.
Thursday, August 15, 2024
The enormity of Warren Darling’s impact during his more than 35 years at the University of Iowa is impossible to measure. He began his academic career at the University of Iowa in 1987 as an assistant professor and worked his way up the ranks to professor in 2007, and was then named Department Executive Officer (Chair) of the Department of Health and Human Physiology in 2016.
Gary Pierce, Ph.D, professor, and current DEO of the department, says he appreciates Darling's many contributions.
“I am truly grateful for Professor Darling’s service to HHP as DEO from 2016-2022. Warren led the department through some of the most challenging times, including exponential growth in the number of undergraduate majors to become the largest department on campus, changes in college leadership multiple times, lack of administrative staff in the department, significant facilities and space constraints, and all the challenges that came with the COVID-19 pandemic. I know Warren spent countless hours advocating for HHP faculty and students to the college and university throughout these challenges, which I now more fully appreciate as I near the completion of my second year as DEO. Thank you again, Warren.”
Anyone who has worked with Darling can attest that he has worn many hats beyond those listed on his official Curriculum Vitae, including mentor, collaborator, supporter,
and friend.
"I would describe Warren as solid, level, and steadfast, and someone you can absolutely count on personally and professionally."
-Dr. Kelly Cole, former DEO and Professor Health and Human Physiology
Darling discovered his love for the study of movement in high school when he was involved in sports and took a physiology of exercise class. He majored in kinesiology at the University of Waterloo with a focus on biomechanics. During his last year, he took neural control of movement, in which some time was spent focusing on movement disorders. With encouragement from the professor of that course, Darling entered graduate school at the University of Waterloo where he earned a master’s degree in biomechanics, followed by the University of Western Ontario where he earned a Ph.D in physiology, with a focus on neural control of movement. He completed a post-doctorate at the University of Wisconsin Madison in the speech and motor control laboratories, where he first met Kelly Cole, a fellow postdoctoral student. As fate would have it, Darling and Cole both accepted faculty positions at the University of Iowa, where they remained colleagues for almost 30 years.
When asked to reflect on his time working with Darling, Kelly, who is currently the Chair of the Department of Public Health and Exercise Science at Appalachia State University, responded, “He has been a close friend, faculty colleague, and scientific collaborator. I would describe Warren as solid, level, and steadfast, and someone you can absolutely count on personally and professionally. Warren also possesses a quick, critical scientific mind, and is always on point. It has been a joy to know him and his family for all this time, and to work closely with him as scientists and educators.”
During his time at the University of Iowa, Darling has mentored over 25 graduate and doctoral candidates, and served on over 40 dissertation committees and more than 50 comprehensive examination committees. In this role, he has inspired many future researchers and healthcare providers.
Andrew Butler, who was Darling's inaugural PhD student and is now the Dean of the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said, “Warren was an incredible mentor who shaped my entire professional trajectory. I began my journey full of curiosity but lacking the skills of a scientist. Dr. Darling patiently taught me how to think critically, analyze and interpret data, and present my work with clarity. His guidance extended beyond the scientific realm, instilling a strong sense of professionalism. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to have worked with Dr. Warren Darling; he fundamentally changed my career and my life.”
Marc Pizzimenti, PhD, and associate professor of anatomy and cell biology at the University of Iowa, appreciates Darling's approach to mentorship as Darling has offered continuous support throughout his career.
“Warren has always encouraged his students to explore the underlying theories and anatomy most relevant to their research or teaching. Under his guidance, I was challenged to test hypotheses using multiple approaches. This often meant re-designing equipment or procedures to more fully probe the research questions. His kindness and gentle persuasion were most impactful.” Pizzimenti said.
He added his appreciation for Warren goes beyond the classroom and laboratory walls. “Moreover, his prowess on the badminton court had me rapidly exploring all areas of the court on my side of the net," he noted.
Babita Bisht, PhD, and physical therapist in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa, said, “Warren gave me the greatest opportunity of my life when he took me in as his graduate student. He showed us how to be caring, supportive, respectful, and really, really smart. Warren was always there in the lab starting early in the morning, with his office door open, to answer any questions we had. He never micromanaged my work but was always there to guide and support me whenever I needed it. I feel so grateful to have a mentor and colleague like him.”
Jan Hondzinski, PhD, and current professor at the Louisiana State University School of Kinesiology, feels indebted to Darling.
“I consider Dr. Darling an excellent researcher, mentor, and humble academic. As my PhD advisor, he made me feel important by encouraging my ideas and redirecting them as needed. His trust in my skills as a researcher, even when I questioned them, gave me the confidence I needed to achieve many goals in academia. I will consider this extraordinary human my primary academic mentor for life and thank him for his encouragement throughout the years.”
Sara Hussain, PhD, and current assistant professor in Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin, was first an undergraduate student in Darling's skeletal muscle physiology course and then benefitted from his informal advice as she pursued her PhD. She said, “He is an incredibly detailed and mechanistically-grounded thinker, and always has excellent insights on how I can improve the work. Warren is far more than a mentor and college – he is a friend and one of the absolute best people I know. He is a fixture of Iowa movement neuroscience and an excellent example of the type of person and scientist I strive to be.”
Darling’s research, which focuses on neural control of upper limb movement, has resulted in 96 publications in refereed journals such as the Journal of Comparative Neurology, Experimental Brain Research, and Experimental Neurology, and is nothing sort of brilliant. He is especially proud of collaborations with Drs. Ergun UC, Terry Wahls, and Robert Morecraft. Ergun UC, MD, who is the Director of the Movement Disorders Division in the Department of Neurology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, is grateful for his time spent working with Darling.
“It has been a pleasure and privilege to collaborate with Warren. He has been instrumental on a key aspect of my research career: Exercise in Parkinson’s disease. Warren is a very kind, honest, intelligent, knowledgeable, and trustworthy person. You can always count on him for support and friendship.”
Terry Wahls, MD at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, emphasizes that “Warren Darling has been a key mentor for me as I began doing clinical trials testing the efficacy of diet and lifestyle in the setting of MS. He has been a wonderful teacher, mentor, and friend. He is a huge part of why our research has been successful and impactful.”
Darling's collaboration with Robert Morecraft, PhD, who is a professor in the School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota and earned his MS and PhD from Iowa, has been particularly productive, with the potential to have a lasting impact on the treatment of strokes.
Morecraft explained, “Dr. Darling and I initiated our longstanding collaboration in 2002 where we started a research program studying the recovery of hand and finger movements following injury to the cerebral cortex in non-human primates. We combined different and unique backgrounds and skills that resulted in receiving 8 major external research grants (6 from the National Institutes of Health; and Division of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) and published over 20 major research papers spanning 22 years. Our work highlighted the importance and contribution of spared motor areas of the cerebral cortex in the recovery of upper extremity movements following stroke. We were very fortunate to have professional and compatible research teams that worked well together and will always fondly remember the group gatherings and cookouts we enjoyed.”
Darling’s engagement and productivity in research have been dedicated, thorough, and impactful in every sense of the word. It must also be noted that he has been an exceptionally effective teacher in the classroom. During his years at Iowa, he taught human anatomy lecture and lab, skeletal muscle physiology, physiology of aging, advanced physiology of aging, and seminar in motor control.
Former graduate student and current faculty member, Clay Peterson, PhD, remembers his experience in Darling's class, “He always wanted the best for his students and mentees. He was great at challenging your thought processes with insightful questions. He let students find their own way as opposed to holding their hand through the entire process.”
It will surprise no one that Darling plans to stay busy during retirement. He will continue to do research, working toward additional publications with his long-time collaborator, Dr. Robert Morecraft, and will remain a faculty advisor of the Sailing Club (a role he has held since 2004). He is also looking forward to spending time gardening, traveling, and enjoying his family.
When asked what he would like his legacy to be, Darling responded that he hopes people think he has been fair and that his research will continue to be impactful. Looking to the passionate words of colleagues, collaborators, students, and friends, it is clear that he has spent his career going beyond requirements and expectations. Each day of steadfast, patient work has led to an ever-growing community of individuals whose lives, careers, and fields of study are on a better path because of Darling.
