J. Thomas Cunningham named to top research role at the College of Medicine

J. Thomas Cunningham, PhD, has been selected as the next senior associate dean for research with the Texas A&M University College of Medicine, effective Dec. 16.

Cunningham, an internationally known expert on hypertension and body fluid balance, comes to Texas A&M after serving as associate vice president for research administration at the University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center in Fort Worth.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Cunningham join our college during this time of transformational growth and development,” said Amy L. Waer, MD and Jean and Tom McMullin Endowed Dean. “He brings a stellar track record as a researcher and professor and a deep understanding of leadership across the academic research enterprise that will help us reach new levels of innovation and discovery.”

In this role, Cunningham will oversee the strategic planning and implementation of the college’s research program, which involves more than 300 faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and staff. Research is organized mostly around six broad areas including conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease and physiological processes such as inflammation and the potential for stem cells to treat and cure various diseases. This research is conducted on the campus in Bryan-College Station and at the Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston.

Cunningham joined the UNT Health Science Center as a professor of integrative physiology and director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute in 2009. Prior to that, he held research and faculty positions at UT Health San Antonio and the University of Missouri. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Illinois University and master’s and doctoral degrees in biological psychology from University of Iowa and held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Iowa, University of Ottawa and McGill University.

His research focuses on the central nervous system’s contributions to health and diseases though its interactions with the cardiovascular system and the brain’s role in the normal maintenance of blood pressure and fluid balance. Since 2022, he has been involved with research that has received more than $4.5 million in funding support.

Cunningham’s numerous awards and honors include designations as a Fellow of the American Physiological Society and a Regents Professor with the UNT Health Science Center, where he also received the President’s Award for Faculty Research and the Golden Apple Teaching Award.