Joseph M. Metzger, Ph.D.
Joseph M. Metzger (metzgerj@umn.edu) is Professor and Chair of Integrative Biology and Physiology at the University of Minnesota Medicine School. Following graduate studies at Marquette University and postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Metzger commenced his tenure-track Assistant Professor career at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he was director of the Center for Integrative Genomics and Professor and Associate Chair of the Dept. of Molecule and Integrative Physiology.
In 2008, Dr. Metzger was appointed as the Maurice B. Visscher Land-Grant Endowed Chair of Physiology and Professor and inaugural Chair of the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. The Metzger lab seeks mechanistic insights into heart and muscle function with the aim of ultimately translating findings to new therapeutic modalities for remediation of acquired and inherited cardiac and muscle diseases. His laboratory has forwarded a number of advances including molecular development of a cardiac “Guardian Angel” for the ischemic and failing heart and a chemical-based “Molecular Band-Aid” for dystrophic cardiomyopathy in muscular dystrophy. Dr. Metzger has trained numerous students and fellows, 22 of which have advanced to tenure-track faculty positions at leading academic medical centers across the country.
The Metzger lab is a dynamic and interactive biomedical research group that spans from graduate students to postdoctoral and clinical fellows, and includes undergraduates, visiting professors and research associates. Lab expertise ranges from physiologists, bioengineers, cardiologists, surgeons, and molecular and cellular biologists. The lab welcomes new investigators from diverse academic backgrounds who share the ultimate goal of translating basic science insights into potential clinical therapies for disease.
Selected recent selected publications include:
- Vetter AD, Houang EM, Sell JJ, Thompson BR, Sham YY, Metzger JM. TnI Structural Interface with the N-Terminal Lobe of TnC as a Determinant of Cardiac Contractility. Biophysical Journal. 2018 Apr 10;114(7):1646-1656. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.02.015.
- Houang E, Haman KJ, Kim M, Zhang W, Lowe DA, Sham YY, Lodge TP, Hackel BJ, Bates FS, Metzger JM. Chemical Endgroup Modified Diblock Copolymers Elucidate Anchor and Chain Mechanism of Membrane Stabilization. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 2017 Jul 3;14(7):2333-2339. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00197. Epub 2017 Jun 12. PMID: 28538101.
- Bedada FB, Martindale JJ, Arden E, Metzger JM. Molecular inotropy mediated by cardiac miR-based PDE4D/PRKAR1α/phosphoprotein signaling. Nature Scientific Reports. Nov 11 2016;6:36803. doi: 10.1038/srep36803. PMID: 27833092.
- Davis J, Davis LC, Correll RN, Makarewich CA, Schwanekamp JA, Moussavi-Harami F, Wang D, York AJ, Wu H, Houser SR, Seidman CE, Seidman JG, Regnier M, Metzger JM, Wu JC, Molkentin JD. The tension-Ca2+ integral predicts heart growth dynamics in familial cardiomyopathy. Cell. 2016 Apr 20. pii: S0092-8674(16)30393-2. PMID: 27114035.
- Prins KW, Asp ML, Zhang L, Wang W, Metzger JM. Microtubule-Mediated Misregulation of Junctophilin-2 Underlies T-Tubule Disruptions and Calcium Mishandling in mdx Mice. JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2016 Apr; 1(3):122-130. Epub 2016 Apr 18. PMID: 27482548.
- Barnabei MS, Sjaastad FV, Townsend D, Bedada FB, Metzger JM. Severe dystrophic cardiomyopathy by the enteroviral protease 2A–mediated dystrophin C-terminus cleavage fragment. Sci Transl Med. 2015 Jul 1;7(294):294. PMID: 26136477.
- Wang Wang, Matthew S. Barnabei, Michelle Asp, Frazer Heinis, Erik Arden, Jennifer Davis, Elizabeth Braunlin, Qi Li2, Jonathan Davis, James D. Potter, Metzger JM. Noncanonical EF-hand Motif Strategically Delays Ca2+ Buffering to Enhance Cardiac Performance. Nat Med. 19: 305–312, 2013. PMCID: PMC 3727912