Posted on March 3, 2004 at 11:10 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — University of Alabama at Birmingham scientist Phillip Darwin Bell has been named the first holder of the Thomas E. Andreoli Professorship in Nephrology. A reception honoring Bell will be held Wednesday, March 10, at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Bell, who joined UAB’s faculty in 1981, is a professor of medicine in the department of medicine and the department of physiology and biophysics. He received his undergraduate degree from Millsaps (Miss.) College in 1974 and his Ph.D. degree from UAB in 1980.

His research has centered on investigation of the macula densa cells, called “the brains of the kidney.” At noon on March 10 he will present a medical ground rounds lecture on that topic at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium.

Bell is the recipient of numerous national and international honors recognizing his academic contributions. He has received the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association and has been appointed to that group’s national cardiorenal research review group as well as the Alabama Kidney Foundation’s medical advisory council.

The Salt Lake City native has been recognized through his participation as visiting professor and lecturer at more than 60 scientific symposiums around the world, and by research published in numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals.