SelectedWorks of Susan C. Opava-Stitzer

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Dr. Opava received her B.S. in Biology from the College of Mt. St. Vincent in New
York, a Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Michigan, and postdoctoral training in
renal physiology at Dartmouth Medical School. She joined the faculty of the Department of
Physiology at the University of Puerto Rico Medical School in 1974, and advanced from
Assistant Professor to Professor and Chair of the Department. In these positions she
taught medical, graduate and dental students, and maintained an active federally funded
research program in the areas of water and electrolyte homeostasis, hormonal regulation
of renal function, and hypertension. She has published numerous original research and
review articles and book chapters on these topics. In 1982 she received a Research Career
Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. 

At the University of Puerto Rico, Dr. Opava established and administered a Research
Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program on the Medical Sciences Campus. She was
the director of this program, supported by the National Institutes of Health, from 1986
to 1993, during which time grant funds to the program exceeded $10 million. The program
was interdisciplinary, involving multiple departments and schools, and covered a range of
research areas, including neurobiology, physiology and pharmacology, cytogenetics,
molecular biology, clinical research in AIDS, medicinal chemistry and biosocial research. 

Dr. Opava has served on a number of review groups and advisory committees of the NIH and
NSF. From 1994-1999, she served on and chaired (1996-1999) an Initial Review Group for
the National Center for Research Resources of the NIH. She has also served on committees
of the American Physiological Society, and as a member of the Hispanic Research Agenda
Group of the Surgeon General's National Workshop on Hispanic/Latino Health. She is
listed in Who's Who in the South and Southwest, Who's Who in Science and
Engineering, American Men and Women in Science and Who’s Who in Medicine and Health Care.
She is a member of several professional societies and is an elected Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

Dr. Opava has occupied her current position as Dean of Research and Graduate Programs at
Cal Poly since 1993. In addition to the regular duties of her position, she directed,
from 1996 to 2005, an NIH-funded program that provided biomedical research opportunities
for Cal Poly students in Peru, Mexico, Spain and the Czech Republic. She is currently the
Principal Investigator on three grants totaling ~$6 million from the Office of Naval
Research, the US. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and the Economic Development
Administration, to support applied research and the development of a technology park on
campus. She has raised more than $17 million to date for the project. 

Apart from her university responsibilities, she has worked in the community as a Court
Appointed Special Advocate for the Voices for Children Program of San Luis Obispo County,
and has served on the County’s Preventive Health Grant Committee. She was a member of the
County’s Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board from 1995-2008. She speaks, reads and writes
Spanish fluently. 

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