Inductees September 15, 2005
Left to Right: Chancellor Kathryn Martin, Brian Kobilka, Kathleen Annette, Dean James Riehl
Dr. Kathleen Annette: Bachelor of Arts – Chemistry 1977
Kathleen R. Annette is the Area Director of the Bemidji Area Indian Health
Service, a position she has held since 1990. After she graduated from Red
Lake High School, Dr. Annette earned a bachelors degree in chemistry from
the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1979 and then an M.D from the
University of Minnesota in 1983. After completing a family practice
residency in Duluth in 1986, she was board certified and became a medical
officer with the Indian Health Service (ISH) at Cass Lake, MN.
Dr. Annette’s C.V. is punctuated by many “firsts”. She is
the first Minnesota Ojibwe woman to earn an M.D. and the first woman to
serve in her current position. Dr. Annette is a member of the White Earth
Band of Chippewa and a native of Minnesota. She has spent her entire
professional career serving the medical needs of our region’s Indian
population. The Bemidji Area Indian Health Service serves nearly 100,000
American Indians from 34 federally recognized tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin
and Michigan.
Dr. Annette serves on many boards and task forces and has been recognized
numerous times for her excellent service, leadership and accomplishments.
Among them are the 1993 U.S. Public Health Service Outstanding Service
Award, 1998 Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service from the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, 1999 Commendation
from the Tribal Leaders of the Oklahoma Area IHS and the 2000 Presidential
Award for meritorious executive performance.
Dr. Brian K. Kobilka: Bachelor of Science – Biology 1977; Bachelor
of Science – Chemistry 1977
Brian K. Kobilka graduated Summa Cum Laude from UMD in 1977 with Bachelor of
Science degrees in both biology and chemistry. He obtained his medical
degree from Yale University School of Medicine in 1981, trained in internal
medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis (1981-1984)
and served as a research fellow (1984-1989) and assistant professor
(1988-1989) at the Duke University School of Medicine. In 1989 Dr. Kobilka
joined the faculty of the Stanford University School of Medicine where
currently he is Professor of Medicine, and Molecular and Cellular
Physiology.
Professor Kobilka has led the way in researching the physiology of
adrenergic receptor subtypes, including signaling and intracellular
trafficking in cardiac myocytes, particularly through the use of
“knockout” mice. Adrenergic receptors form the interface between
the sympathetic nervous system and the cardiovascular system and play a
critical role in the regulation of cardiovascular function. Professor
Kobilka initially cloned the first beta-adrenergic receptors in 1986, and
contributed substantially to the establishment of modern molecular
pharmacology. He has since pioneered direct biophysical studies of
conformational changes in the receptors. Professor Kobilka has authored an
impressive 124 publications in such high impact journals as Nature (6),
Proceedings of the National Academy (14) and Science (4). His numerous
awards and honors include the Nahum Prize for Thesis Research, the 1994
Syntex Prize in Receptor Pharmacology, the 1994 John Jacob Abel Award, the
WSCI Young Investigator Award, a Howard Hughes fellowship, the 2004 Arthur
H. Briggs Lectureship, and the prestigious 2005 Jacob Javits Award in the
Neurosciences.