Visscher Symposium

Honoring UMN legend Maurice B. Visscher -  exemplar citizen-scientist

Started in 2010, the annual Visscher symposium has become one of the marquee events in the medical school each year. Maurice Visscher was an eminent physiologist at the University of Minnesota Medical School. His tenure for 41 years as chair of physiology has to be some sort of a record! In 1956, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences - becoming the first in the history of the UMN Medical School selected for this distinguished honor.  Dr. Visscher is highly regarded for two important contributions to science: his work demonstrated that heart muscle becomes less efficient as it fails and that cardiotonic drugs restore efficiency. Later, his pioneering use of isotopes to define and measure the absorption of electrolytes by the small intestine was considered even more important as it played a major role in the atmospheric nuclear test ban. Dr. Visscher was uncompromising in the pursuit of new knowledge. His trademark line that struck fear into students and faculty alike was: “Let’s see your data.”  In 2008, Dr. Joseph Metzger was named the Maurice B. Visscher Endowed Chair in Physiology, and beginning in 2010, the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology initiated the annual Visscher Symposium. The symposium is highlighted by a keynote address from a prominent scientist and includes a vibrant “Young Investigator Competition” for Post Docs and Graduate students, followed by a reception dinner to celebrate achievements, including highlighting the top GPA senior undergraduate students in Physiology each year.

ana cuervo and joe metzger

2024

Keynote Speaker: Ann Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “Selective Autophagy:  Fighting Aging One Protein at a Time”
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Preethy Parthiban, first place, Eric Queathem, Second place.  Postdoctoral ScholarsZachary Shaheen, first place, Megan Beetch, second place.
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) Leadership: President Fall 2023: Sharon Burri, President Spr 2024: Ifrah Aden
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholars: Chase Hodkiewicz, Grace Mathiason, Hannah Worosh and Irena Wilson

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semenzametzger

2023

Keynote Speaker: Gregg Semenza, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Hypoxia-Inducible Factors in Physiology and Medicine”
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Michael Patterson, first place, Zahra Moazzami, finalist.  Postdoctoral Scholars: Haiguang Wang, first place, Marco Kuenzli, finalist.
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) Co-Presidents: Anna Clarin, Josie Friedman, and Selena Ong
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholar: Aarohi Shah, Casey Hokanson, Duc Thong Nguyen, Alisha Zhu, and Emily Zhi 

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kolbika_brian

2019

Keynote Speaker: Brian Kobilka, MD, Standford University. "Structural Insights Into G Protein Coupled Receptor Signaling"
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Nicole Zarate, first place, Sridhar Selvaraj, finalist. Postdoctoral Scholars: Katherine Murphy, first place, Gyeoung-Jin Kang, finalist.
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) Presidents: Emma Hintz
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholar: Adam Chen

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Past Symposiums

2018

Keynote Speaker: Barbara Kahn, MD, Harvard Medical School. “Novel Signaling Lipids that Regulate Glucose Homeostasis and Inflammation”
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Lee Meier, first place, Ajeetha Joseph Rajan, finalist.  Postdoctoral Scholars: Patrycja Puchalska, first place, Bing Liu, finalist.
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) Co-Presidents: Jordan Keeler and Michael Wurzer
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholar: Sabrene Garrison

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2017

Keynote Speaker: Jeffrey Friedman, MD, PhD, Rockefeller University. “Leptin Physiology, Pathophysiology and the Neural Circuit Regulating Body Weight”
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Amber Lockridge, first place, Erika Dahl, finalist
Postdoctoral Scholars: Tania Incitti, first place, Patricia Bunney, finalist.
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) President: Hamdi Sheiksaid 
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholar: Caleb Ayers

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2016

Keynote Speaker: Eric N. Olson, PhD, UT Southwestern Medical Center. “Molecular Control of Heart Development, Disease and Regeneration”
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Ph.D. Candidate, John Olthoff, first place and Ph.D. Candidate, Amritha Yellamilli, second place
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) President: Kseniya Zvereva
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholar: Peter Kassis-Akal

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2015

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Bruce Spiegelman, Harvard.  "Brown and Beige Fat: Basic Biology and a Novel Pathway of Thermogenesis"
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Mallory Franklin, first place, Hongliang Xu, finalist
Postdoctoral Scholars: Nelio Oliveira, first place, Ninitha Asirvatham-Jeyaraj, finalist
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) President: Kseniya Zvereva
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholar: Brittney Thomson

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2014

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Helen Hobbs, UT Southwestern - "Genetics of Disorders of Dietary Excess: Getting to the Heart of the Matter"
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Mayank Verma, first place, Cheryl Cero, finalist
Postdoctoral Scholars: Arpan Ghosh, first place, Brian Thompson, finalist
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) President: Ben Pilkey
Top Physiology Undergrad Scholar: Christina Macenski

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2013

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Joseph Takahashi, UT Southwestern- "The Architecture of the Circadian Clock System in Mammals"
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Students: Forum Kamdar, first place, Jason Foss, finalist
Postdoctoral Scholars: Maria Razolli, first place, Joshua Martindale, finalist
Undergraduate Physiology Society (UPS) President: Hannah Dotterman
Highest GPA: Allison Spicher

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2012

Keynote Speaker: Dr. C. Ronald Kahn, Harvard - "Diabetes, Insulin, and Brain Metabolism"
Young Investigator Competition awardees: Graduate Students: Kristin Hellberg, first place, Frazer Heinis, finalist
Postdoctoral Scholars: Antonio Filareto, first place, Zeeshan Syedain, finalist
UPS President: Matthew Hedlund
Highest GPA: Patrick McGarrah

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2011

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Louis Ignarro, UCLA - "The Road to Stockholm: A Nobel Mission"
Young Investigator Competition Awardees: Graduate Student: Jason Foss, first place, Xiong Qiang, finalist
Postdoctoral Scholar: Brian Thompson, first place, Ruijun Han, finalist
UPS President: Thu Doan

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2010 - Inaugural

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Christine Seidman, Yale - "Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Mutations to Mechanisms"
Young Investigator's Competition awardees: First place -Marcos Kuroki, Ph.D. Candidate; Second - Fikru Bedada, postdoc; 3rd - Elizabeth Lockamy, Ph.D. Candidate
UPS President: Amanda Delaney

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Dale Abel

2025 Visscher Symposium Keynote Speaker

William S. Adams Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Chair and Executive Medical Director
Department of Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA Health