The Cohn Lecture was initiated in 1999 in honor of Jay N. Cohn, M.D., who served as Director of the Cardiovascular Division of the University of Minnesota from 1974 to 1996. During that time, he established the University of Minnesota's program as one of the country's leading centers of research and clinical excellence in cardiovascular diseases. In particular, innovative studies carried out to explore the mechanisms of heart failure and its effective therapy were critical to establishing heart failure as a subspecialty of cardiology and the University of Minnesota as a leading institution in the field.

The goal of the Cohn Lecture Series has been to honor individuals who have embodied the same principles Dr. Cohn fostered: clinical inquisitiveness about physiologic mechanisms driving pathology and a creative approach to disease management.

The invited lecturers interact with the faculty and trainees in an informal dinner-dialogue with Dr. Cohn and other guest panelists on current issues related to clinical investigation (the audience is CV division faculty, fellows and staff) in addition to a formal lecture presented to the Department of Medicine.