Ph.D., FACSM, FAPS
USA

Ken McKeever received his B.S. degree and M.S. degrees in Animal Science from California State Polytechnic University Pomona and Fresno State University. Following completion of his Masters he worked as the Assistant Manager of Post-Time Thoroughbred Ranch in Tulare, California. McKeever earned his Ph.D. in Animal Physiology at the University of Arizona where he also managed the University Horse Center and Quarter Horse breeding program. Upon completing his Ph.D. McKeever served for two years as a National Academies of Sciences-National Research Council Resident Research Associate in the Cardiovascular Research Lab at the NASA Ames Research Center in California. From 1987 to 1994 Dr. McKeever developed and coordinated research at the Equine Exercise Physiology Laboratory at the Ohio State University. In 1995 he joined the Faculty in the Department of Animal Sciences at Rutgers University as an Associate Professor and proceeded to build, develop, and coordinate one of the most active Equine Exercise Physiology laboratories in the USA. Dr. McKeever earned the rank of Full Professor in 2009 and currently serves as Associate Director of the Rutgers University Equine Science Center. He currently serves as Past-President of the Equine Science Society as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Comparative Exercise Physiology. On a basic level his research has focused on comparative exercise and cardiovascular physiology with a particular interest in the effects of aging on the integration of the cardiovascular, renal, and endocrine systems in the control of blood pressure, blood volume and fluid and electrolyte balance. On an applied level, his research has focused on the effects of performance enhancing practices on the physiological responses of the equine athlete. These studies are just part of the more than 220 book chapters, journal articles and proceedings papers, and more than 70 abstracts that have advanced our understanding of the athletic horse. Dr. McKeever was one of the first scientists to be named a Fellow of the American College Sports Medicine for work with horses and he is the first and only Equine Physiologist named a Fellow by the American Physiological Society.