Susan Barman received her PhD in physiology from Loyola University School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois. Afterward she went to Michigan State University (MSU) where she is currently a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology/Toxicology and the Neuroscience Program. Dr Barman has had a career long interest in neural control of cardiorespiratory function with an emphasis on the characterization and origin of the naturally occurring discharges of sympathetic and phrenic nerves. She was a recipient of a prestigious National Institutes of Health MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award. She is also a recipient of an Outstanding University Woman Faculty Award from the MSU Faculty Professional Women’s Association and an MSU College of Human Medicine Distinguished Faculty Award. She has been very active in the American Physiological Society (APS) and served as its 85th President. She has also served as a Councillor as well as Chair of the Central Nervous System Section of APS, Women in Physiology Committee and Section Advisory Committee of APS. She is also active in the Michigan Physiological Society, a chapter of the APS.