Dr. Meites served on many U.S. government scientific advisory committees, on scientific journal editorial boards, and university committees. He received numerous awards for his contributions to teaching and scientific research, including the MSU Distinguished Faculty Award, the Carl Hartman Award from the Society for the Study of Reproduction, and the Robert H. Williams Distinguished Leadership award from the Endocrine Society. Dr. Meites' laboratory was the first to demonstrate incontrovertibly that the mammalian hypothalamus exerts an inhibitory effect on prolactin secretion through a substance known as "prolactin inhibiting factor" (PIF). Dr. Meites' laboratory made fundamental observations of PIF and other catecholaminergic regulators as well as serotonergic regulators of prolactin secretion. His work on mammary tumorigenesis has provided critical insight into the hormonal mechanisms that contribute to breast cancer development. Dr. Meites later shifted his attention to aging, which became the focus of his research during the last 20-25 years of his career. In an early publication, he described the neuro-endocrine profile of old rats in constant estrus. This report triggered a series of investigations that documented the hormonal and reproductive changes that occur during the aging process and resulted in the hypothesis that repro- ductive aging is due to degradation of hypothalamic function.