The UNMC Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology will host a retirement celebration for Johnnie Hackley at 3 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Durham Research Center commons area.
Hackley will retire as a researcher on Feb. 28 after 37 years at UNMC. During her career, she worked in the laboratory of Irving Zucker, Ph.D., helping to investigate a variety of basic science questions in cardiovascular physiology.
Hackley came to UNMC in 1979 with a degree in veterinary technology from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis.
“Johnnie was the first person I hired in my lab. Her expertise in animal procedures, especially in large animals, was indispensable in our early studies on the neural control of cardiovascular function in heart failure”, Dr. Zucker said.
Hackley has worked with students at every level from high school to visiting scientists and has co-authored several publications, as well as being honored with a Silver U Award and outstanding performance stipends.
Over the years she has functioned as a laboratory manager and echocardiographic technologist for small animals.