Leonard R. Johnson, PhD is Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Thomas A. Gerwin Professor and Chairman, Department of Physiology, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis; and former Vice Chancellor for Research and Thomas A. Gerwin Professor of Physiology, University of Tennessee. He is the author of Gastrointestinal Physiology, 9th Edition.

Dr. Johnson earned his PhD from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has served in many positions with the American Physiological Society, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and the American Gastroenterological Association and has been on the editorial boards of numerous professional journals. Dr. Johnson has been a frequent invited speaker at international symposia and has served on multiple national committees and panels regarding gastroenterology and digestive diseases.

His recent research has involved the role of polyamines in programmed cell death or apoptosis of the intestinal mucosa, and polyamines and their role in cell migration.

Among Dr. Johnson’s many awards and honors are being named among the 1000 most cited scientists in the world 1965 – 1978; Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award, University of Texas College of Medicine, multiple years; Chairman, Physiology Test Committee, National Board of Medical Examiners; Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, University of Colorado School of Medicine;  Doctor of Medicine, Honoris Causa, Jagiellonian University, Copernicus Medical School, Cracow; NIH MERIT Award, multiple years; Fellow, American Physiology Society, 2015 (inaugural year); and 29th Annual Grossman Award and Morton I. Grossman Lecturer, 2017, American Gastroenterological Association.