Mayo Clinic Trustees Honor New Named Professors

Friday, November 19, 2004

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees today recognized two physicians awarded Mayo Clinic College of Medicine named professorships.

Thomas Viggiano, M.D., Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, is the recipient of a Barbara Woodward Lips Professorship. The professorship he received is one of three professorships that Mayo Foundation established in 1999 to honor Barbara Woodward Lips, Mayo Clinic's largest benefactor. Dr. Viggiano, who joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 1980, is the associate dean for faculty affairs and a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. In addition to his interests in medical education, Dr. Viggiano pursues clinical and research interests in general gastroenterology, therapeutic endoscopy and portal hypertensive gastropathy.

The trustees also honored Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, as a new named professor. Dr. Terzic is the recipient of the Marriott Family Professorship in Cardiovascular Research, which was established through the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation in 2004 as part of the new Mayo Clinic Marriott Program for Heart Disease Research. Dr. Terzic is the director of this program. Dr. Terzic joined the Mayo Clinic staff in 1993 and is a professor of medicine and pharmacology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Dr. Terzic's research interests include cardioprotective and cardioregenerative medicine, the genetics of cardiac disease and stress tolerance, bioenergetic signaling, nucleocytoplasmic communication and ion channel biology.

Named professorships at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine represent the highest academic distinction for a faculty member. Faculty are appointed to a professorship through nomination and endorsement of their peers, and then confirmed by Mayo Clinic senior leadership. Appointed individuals are recognized for distinguished achievement in their specialty areas and service to the institution. The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees confers the named professorship in person at a board meeting.

These professorships are named in honor of the benefactors and remain in perpetuity. The gift funds, which may be unrestricted or focused on a specific medical area, are held in endowment. All income from endowed professorships supports Mayo Clinic programs in medical education and research.

The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees, a 30-member group of public representatives, Mayo Clinic physicians and administrators, is responsible for patient care, medical education and research activities at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.; Rochester, Minn.; and Scottsdale, Ariz.

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