Essie obtained his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1967 and his Ph.D. from the same university in 1970. He then returned to Iran and joined the Biology Department of the Faculty of Science, University of Tehran. He was one of the principal faculty who established the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB). During his tenure at IBB, Dr. Meisami was the most productive faculty member, both in terms of peer reviewed scientific publications and the number of graduate students who obtained their M.S. degrees under his supervision and guidance. The establishment of the neurophysiology laboratory, the electrophysiology laboratory, and the facilities for keeping animals for neurobiology research at IBB are just examples of Essie’s hard work at the institute. More importantly, he assisted in the establishment of a library at IBB which was used by all IBB researchers and by researchers from other institutions. Dr. Meisami was one of the major organizers of the three international symposia held at the University of Tehran by IBB (one on the Structural Basis of Membrane Function (1975), another on Organization and Expression of Euchariotic Genome (1976), and the third in Developmental Neurobiology (1978).
Dr. Meisami returned to the United States in 1980, and after several years at the University of California, Berkeley he joined the faculty of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A popular professor at the University of Illinois, he served as associate professor of both Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience.
Here is a sample of comments by his students: “Meisami is awesome! He is the sweetest and most hilarious man ever. He really cares about his students and wants them to perform well.”; “Very interesting class with a great lecturer.”; “He is probably the nicest and most understanding professor you will ever have at the University of Illinois…He genuinely wants his students to learn without stress…he wants students to enjoy going to class and learning…I would take any class that is taught by him.”; “How could you not love Dr. Meisami? He thinks every student is brilliant and does what he can to help them achieve their goals. He is always smiling and you can’t help but smile back. Great way to get students enthused about physiology.”; “Doc is one of the best professors I had at U of I. He is friendly and helpful, and he really does get to know his students. I graduated two years ago, but he still recognizes me and asks about how I am doing and even remembers exactly what I AM doing now! He’s wonderful, and physiology would have been awful if it wasn’t for him!”; “It’s a tough class, but I wouldn’t want any other professor teaching it. Meisami does an amazing job of teaching us about the human body.”
In addition to his numerous research papers, Dr. Meisami authored chapters on his research area in several books. He co-authored The Physiology Coloring Book, which has been translated in several languages.
Dr. Meisami is survived by his wife Nooshin, his first wife Julie, and his daughters Mona Reilly and Ayda Meisami.
The Meisamis have been an important part of our family. We just can’t believe that Essie is no longer with us. We miss him terribly.
With warmest affection,
Ali Estilai
Essie Meisami
I knew Essie well as a graduate student in the Department of Physiology-Anatomy at Berkeley, when the greeting “Down with the Shah” was used widely. Discussion with Essie about staying to make a career in the United States rather than returning to Iran were fruitless because Essie’s Iranian patriotism was dominant. His subsequent activities in Teheran showed how genuine it was, as altogether a deep sincerity of purpose and function as a scientist, family member, teacher and friend suffused his whole being.
As a physiologist and neuroscientist, Essie made a considerable mark on the subject, by being the first to extend the deprivation studies, which at the time were in an early stage, to the olfactory system. When, not really surprisingly, a profound gap opened between Essie’s allegiance to a widely-shared value system and the changed political situation in Iran, and his return to the USA became inevitable, it was fortunate that a temporary collaboration could be found in my laboratory. It was even more fortunate and deserved that a permanent position at the University of Illinois opened up, allowing Essie’s talent as a teacher and mentor to unfold. The many comments on this page testify to the wonderful confluence of factors that made Essie’s life and activities in the American Midwest such a success. Surviving the treacherous situations that Essie encountered in the course of a life involving two disparate geographic and cultural zones was by no means assured; that he did it so well speaks volumes.
Gerald Westheimer
This professor definitely one of the nicest human beings on Earth. Although I met him only 2-3 times, he did best to help me out, when I was super struggling in MCB 240. I respected him a lot.
quality of life is measured in how much smile you bring to others, he got A+++.
Mona,
I did not know your dad, but from reading the many comments and postings, I can tell he was a man of many great talents and of deep, heartfelt humanity. The pictures on this site help to paint the picture of a man who clearly had many friends, was loved by family and associates, loved others and treated others as he wanted to be loved and treated, and will be dearly missed. My prayers to you and yours as you mourn his passing.
Professor Esmail Meisami admitted me to the University, of Tehran, and was my mentor at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, U. Tehran, 1977-1979. I sat in his classes and lectures with his permission and without formally enrolling in them, because they afforded me systemic insight on how details I studied in biochemistry were integrated at the level of the human organism. Outside the classroom, he treated me like his friend or younger brother and gave me much information about living with my immune deficiency. After the revolution in Iran, we kept in touch as friends. I will miss his kindness, smile, exceptional humanity, and the wealth of knowledge he unreservedly shared with me. I wish Nooshin, Julie, his children, grand children, and friends much peace and the ability to sustain his loss. Love and best wishes, Nozar
Navzer D. Sachinvala, Ph.D., MBA
Retired USDA-ARS, New Orleans;
Home: 2261 Brighton Place, Harvey, LA 70058
E-mail: Sachinvala@aol.com