David W. Johnson, Ph.D.

Dr. Johnson received his Bachelors Degree from the University of Vermont, his Masters Degree from UMASS Amherst, and his Ph.D from Virginia Tech. After receiving his Ph.D, he did a one year fellowship in the Department of Pharmacology at Mt Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, NY, studying the pharmacology of drugs of abuse under Dr. Joe Goldfarb. After that, he trained for two more years as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at Albany Medical College under Dr. Stanley Glick. Dr Johnson continued his research on drugs of abuse after arriving at UNECOM in 1993, using microdialysis techniques to measure neurotransmitter release in the brain during drug administration. He also researched how learning behaviors were affected by drugs of abuse, and had an ongoing collaboration with Boston University studying the role of NMDA receptors in mediating damage in the ischemic brain.

Dr. Johnson stopped doing research in 2004. He now focuses on teaching and administrative work, with his primary teaching interests being in renal physiology, renal pathophysiology, reproductive physiology and reproductive pathophysiology. He also teaches an online medical physiology course for the University of New England, and has written two books: ‘Feel 30 For the Next 50 Years’ (Avon Books, 1998) and ‘Medical Tests That Could Save Your Life’ (Rodale Press, 2004). Dr. Johnson maintains a Coast Guard Charter Boat Captain’s license and does occasional collaborative research with the University of New England’s Marine Science Center, working on tagging sharks offshore.