About

About the American Autonomic Society

The American Autonomic Society has been established to bring together individuals from diverse disciplines who share an interest in the structure and function of the autonomic nervous system and in the pathology, treatment, and prevention of its disorders. The Society sponsors annual meetings and provides a point of contact among the many interested clinical and basic scientists who wish to communicate across disciplinary lines.

History

The American Autonomic Society (AAS) began informally in 1990 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Important motivating force for the initial meeting were Dr. David Robertson and Ms. Dorothy Trainor-Kingsbury (Shy-Drager Support Group). The Society was formally established in 1992, and Dr. Robertson became its first president. The broad aim of the AAS is to provide a vehicle for investigators and clinicians interested in the autonomic nervous system to interact. It aims to promote research, education, and the academic practice in the autonomic disorders. The Society has escalated in its membership, successfully obtained tax-exempt status, adopted a formal charter, and has its own journal (Clinical Autonomic Research).

The Society has an American infrastructure but a strongly international character. Its membership is open to persons of all countries who share the same interests.

The AAS has held annual meetings every year since its inception and broadened the membership to become a truly international Society. The AAS has joined its meeting with the European Federation of Autonomic Societies (EFAS) and celebrates combined meetings with the International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience (ISAN).

During the past quarter century, the AAS has expanded from less than 50 members in 1992 to over 150 members today, focusing on both clinical and basic science, and has taken on a new role in the education of physicians in autonomic disorders. The collegial atmosphere and ongoing collaborative efforts has sparked several important discoveries that directly impact the lives of people with autonomic disorders. Partnerships with support groups have expanded the reach of the AAS into the public eye, while partnerships with industry have culminated in approval of new therapies for people with autonomic disorders.

Board of Directors

Amanda Peltier
M.D.

President
American Autonomic Society

CONTACT

Department of Neurology & Medicine
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
A-0118 Medical Center North
Nashville, TN 37232 USA

Wolfgang Singer
M.D.

Past-President
American Autonomic Society

CONTACT

Department of Neurology
Mayo Clinic
200 First St SW
Rochester, MN 55905 USA

Glen A. Cook
M.D.

President-Elect
American Autonomic Society

CONTACT

Lieutenant Commander, Navy
School of Medicine, Neurology
Naval Hospital Portsmouth, VA

Howard Snapper
M.D.

Secretary-Treasurer
American Autonomic Society

CONTACT

Department of Cardiology
Wellstar Health System
55 Whitcher St, Suite 330
Marietta, GA, 30060 USA

Mohammed Numan
M.D.

CONTACT

Department of Pediatric Cardiology
University of Texas
6410 Fannin Street, Suite 425
Houston, TX 77030 USA

Jacqueline Limberg
Ph.D.

CONTACT

Department of Nutrition & Exercise Physiology
University of Missouri
500 Hitt Street
Columbia, MO 65211 USA

Rasna Sabharwal
M.S., Ph.D.

CONTACT

Department of Internal Medicine
University of Iowa
Carver College of Medicine
627 Medical Research Center, 501 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52242

Erin Williams
PhD

CONTACT

Department of Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology
Simon Fraser University
888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, CANADA

Alexandru Barboi
M.D.

CONTACT

Indiana University
Department of Neurology
550 University Blvd
Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA

Melissa Cortez
M.D.

CONTACT

University of Utah
Department of Neurology
729 Arapeen Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA

Executive Director

Ms. Amber Millen

Executive Director
American Autonomic Society

CONTACT

9500 Gilman Drive
Basic Science Building 5006,
Mail Code 0629
La Jolla, CA 92093-0629
Phone: 858-534-3865
Fax: 858-534-1445
amber@americanautonomicsociety.org

Presidents

2025/2026 Amanda Peltier, MD


2023/2024 Wolfgang Singer, MD


2021/2022 Steven Vernino, M.D., Ph.D.


2019/2020 Satish R. Raj, M.D., M.S.C.I.


2017/2018 William P. Cheshire, M.D.


2015/2016 Christopher Gibbons, M.D.


2013/2014 Thomas Chelimsky, M.D.


2011/2012 Michael Joyner, M.D.


2009/2010 Mark Chapleau, Ph.D.


2007/2008 Italo Biaggioni, M.D.


2005/2006 Horacio Kaufmann, M.D.


2003/2004 Eduardo Benarroch, M.D., D.Sci.


2001/2002 Felicia Axelrod, M.D.


1999/2000 Roy Freeman, M.D.


1997/1998 Irwin J. Schatz, M.D.


1996 David H. P. Streeten, M.B., D.Phil.


1994/1995 Phillip A. Low, M.D.


1992/1993 David Robertson, M.D.