Prior to her appointment, Dr. Townsley served in many key leadership roles in the USA College of Medicine – most recently as interim senior associate dean for the past six months.
"I am pleased to announce Dr. Townsley’s new role at the USA College of Medicine,” said Dr. John V. Marymont, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. “In addition to her vast experiences in the field of academic medicine, Mary’s commitment to our mission and deep understanding of our medical school places her in a unique position to continue strengthening our institution."
Since joining the faculty in 1988, Dr. Townsely has served as associate dean for faculty affairs, interim chair of the department of physiology and cell biology, director of training programs for the USA Center for Lung Biology, director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at USA and a lead organizer for LCME accreditation processes at the USA College of Medicine.
Dr. Townsley earned her Ph.D. in physiology from the University of California at Davis and completed postdoctoral studies at USA. Her research interests focus on mechanisms that regulate the integrity of the alveolar septal barrier in the lung and the pathobiology that leads to the development of acute lung injury.
In 2013, Dr. Townsley received the Leadership Award from the Pulmonary Circulation Assembly of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). Also in 2013, she was named the USA Phi Kappa Phi Scholar of the Year. Dr. Townsley was honored in 2011 by the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation with the Distinguished Achievement Award. She was also a member of the 2000 Class of Fellows in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women (ELAM).
Dr. Townsley, who also serves as professor of physiology and cell biology at USA, currently serves on editorial boards of the journals Microvascular Research, Pulmonary Circulation and Frontiers in Physiology. She has chaired peer-review study sections for lung biology, the United Peer Review Steering Committee, and the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation, all for the American Heart Association (AHA). She served on numerous peer review study sections for the National Institutes of Health and the Veteran's Administration, as well as other national committees for the American Physiological Society, the ATS and the Microcirculatory Society.
Dr. Townsley is a member of the American Heart Association, American Thoracic Society, the Society for Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine and the American Physiological Society.
