Houser’s involvement with Temple spans more than 30 years. After earning his Ph.D. in physiology and completing his fellowship in cardiology at Temple, he joined the faculty full time in 1979.

An internationally renowned researcher, Houser has led the way for many important discoveries about heart disease. His work has been supported consistently by the National Institutes of Health since 1984, including a grant in 2005 to determine the presence of cardiac stem cells and whether they can be used to fight heart failure. In 2002, he won the University Faculty Award for Research in recognition of his pioneering work, and in 2003, he founded the Cardiovascular Research Center. His research focuses on processes that maintain the electrical and contractile properties of normal heart functions and the defects in these processes that lead to issues such as arrhythmias and congestive heart failure.

Houser has been invited to speak about his research at more than 140 conferences and lectures, and has authored more than 110 publications and book chapters, including his most recent publication in the February 2007 issue of The American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, which addressed differences in heart tissue between men and women.

As an educator, Houser displays tremendous commitment to his students, employing them in all aspects of his research, from publishing papers, to writing grants, to presenting their findings, all to provide them with experience that they can carry through their professional lives.

“Dr. Houser is a skilled and dedicated teacher in both the classroom and the laboratory,” said John M. Daly, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine. “He is an experienced administrator who has already demonstrated an exceptional ability to build multidisciplinary research groups and to recruit talented new faculty members to Temple.”