Juleen Zierath, Ph.D., the first woman to chair a Nobel Prize selection committee, will speak at Colorado State University on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. in the Behavioral Sciences Building, Room 131.

Zierath, who has made prominent contributions to understanding the role of skeletal muscle in diabetes, will lecture on the history of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Zierath is professor of clinical integrative physiology and head of the Section of Integrative Physiology in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery and the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She is also professor of integrative physiology at the University of Copenhagen, where she is a scientific director at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Metabolic Research.

Her visit has been coordinated by the director of CSU’s Human Performance Clinical Research Laboratory, University Distinguished Teaching Scholar and Professor Matthew Hickey. The Department of Health and Exercise Science in the College of Health and Human Sciences is sponsoring her appearance.

‘World-renowned scientist’

“The visit by Dr. Zierath is a terrific opportunity to speak with a truly world-renowned scientist who, on the side, chairs the Nobel Prize Committee in Physiology or Medicine,” said Barry Braun, head of the Department of Health and Exercise Science. “It was tempting to keep all of her time to ourselves but, true to our Dr. Matt Hickey’s generosity of spirit, we get to share her experiences and insights with the broader CSU community via small group meetings with grad students and faculty across multiple colleges, and with campus groups working to enhance leadership opportunities for women in the academic setting.”

Zierath currently serves as director of the Strategic Program in Diabetes at the Karolinska Institute and chair of the board of directors of the Keystone Symposia. In addition to chairing the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, the Milwaukee native is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, a member of the Nobel Assembly and chair of the Nobel Committee at the Karolinska Institute. After completing undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, she earned her master’s degree in exercise physiology from Ball State University in 1986 and her Ph.D. in physiology from the Karolinska Institute in 1995.

The event is free and open to the public.