Remembering Our Friend Essie

In November 2014 we published a book entitled “Center of Excellence, A Tribute to Drs. Lisa Djavadi-Ohaniance and Fereydoun Djavadi, Founders of the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran.”

As the subtitle indicates, the book honors two exceptional biochemists who, together with a number of faculty members of the University of Tehran, established the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB). Dr. Esmail Meisami (Essie) was one of the cofounders. The 54-page book with leather hard cover contains photographs, English text and Farsi text.

IBB is a graduate research and teaching entity of the University of Tehran that hired well-qualified scientists and staff and accepted excellent graduate students from across the country by means of entrance examinations and interviews. From 1975 through 1978, the institute organized three major symposia with renowned international authorities as speakers, with a number of Nobel laureates among them. Those symposia together with peer- reviewed papers published in first-rate international journals by IBB scientists, helped the institute to be highly recognized at the national and international levels. IBB established contact and collaboration with the best laboratories in the world, where the IBB graduates could easily be accepted for continued education and research. It is remarkable that this young institute withstood the onslaught of the revolution, and continues since its beginning nearly 40 years ago, to conduct research and train students.

The contributors to our book include IBB students, staff and faculty that we were able to contact. Several scientists who had close association with IBB also contributed to the book. Essie, one of the founding faculty members of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (DCMB) and IBB, was one of the contributors. Before his untimely death, Essie submitted a piece that briefly presents the history of the establishment of DCMB and IBB and describes his role in the creation of those fine teaching and research institutions (p. 27). The book also has a section on “In Memoriam” (p. 26) that remembers the colleagues that we lost along the way, including our dear friend Essie.

In preparing the book, we were fortunate to have Mona Meisami Reilly (Essie’s daughter) as our graphic artist. Her expert graphic design work and her skill in incorporating the photographs with English and Persian texts have created a fine book that is loved by all who have seen it. We are sure that Essie would be pleased at the publication of a collaborative book that also includes the talents of his lovely daughter.

Please click here if you would like to see the book:

Ali Estilai and Ellen Estilai

1 Year Anniverary of the passing of Dr. Essie Meisami

Dr. Meisami’s memorial service was held at Howthorn hotel last Friday (6:30-9:30 p.m.) in Champaign, IL. Everything was great and perfect. We had about 50 guests including friends, family, and university colleagues. Dr. Emad was the master of ceremony. Dear Nooshin had arranged almost everything. The ceremony started with a slide show of Dr. Meisami’s pictures followed by a nice dinner. After dinner, we had several guests/speakers talking about your wonderful dad and sharing their memories. The ceremony was concluded by playing Jane Maryam song/video which was the song Dr. Meisami had sent to his friends couple of hours before his death. The song can be listened using the link below:

Gallery of the Life of Essie Meisami

California Memorial on May 5, 2013

Essie MeisamiDear friends and family, I am pleased to invite you to come together and join us to celebrate the life of my dear dad Essie. Information about the Location and Hotels nearby are provided below. Please forward this page to anyone you feel will want to attend.

    Sunday May 5th – 11am-3pm
    Highlands Country Club
    110 Hiller Dr., Oakland, CA 94618

Congress of Iranian society of Physiology and Pharmacology in Hamedan

Comment from Nina Gazanfari

My name is Nina Gazanfari and I am a former student and deep admirer of your father, Dr Meisami. I wish to offer my condolences to you and your family for your father’s passing and share some of the wonderful memories he graced my life with.

I first met your father as a college student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in his physiology course. On the first day of the course, I felt his contagious passion for human physiology and I knew that his course would be one of my favorites all semester. He taught so uniquely from other professors. He would walk up and down the aisles of the 200 person lecture hall, making every corner of the room feel welcome and engaged. He called on us to answer questions, referring to each of us as “my friend.” He taught difficult physiological topics in a comprehensible manner through his fan-favorite Physiology Coloring Book, a fun way to learn. I cherish my copy.

I will always have a special place in my heart for your father because he made U of I feel like a home to me, and he made me feel that somebody believed in me and thought I was important when I was at the most infantile stage of my career journey. There is a quote that goes something like this: “You can tell a lot about a man’s character by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.” That quote reminds me a lot of your father, because he had a way of seeing through people, seeing what we could become and seeing what we could add to the world instead of what we were at that moment. He was transcendent.

I often felt like a “fish in the sea” in many of my 300+ student biology classes at U of I, but not with Dr Meisami. He had a special way of finding something worthwhile in every person he met, and he was great at bringing the best out in people. He wrote me a letter of recommendation for medical school which I could not have gotten into medical school without, and I am forever grateful for his support and belief in me.

I will honor your father’s support of my lifelong dream by aiming to emanate my favorite qualities of his: his kindness, his ability to see the good in people, his zest for life and discovery, his love for science, and his compassion.

I am sending warm thoughts of comfort and consolation to you and your family and hoping that you are feeling some peace. I am blessed to have known your father and will forever respect and regard him as one of my biggest inspirations and role models in this life. May his kind soul rest in peace.

Sincerely,
Nina

Comment from Belal Mosaferi

Dear Mona, Nooshin, Julie, Ayda;
I wish to offer my condolences to you and your family for your father’s passing. We were
remembering how much we appreciated him sending his book of “The Physiology Coloring
Book” to us at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran to translate it to Persian. Seeing
eahc other in the congress of Iranian society of physiology and pharmacology in Hamedan was
quite pleased. I was always congratulating him on our eids. He is always in my heart and I
remember him fondly. I will never forget him.

Respectfully,
Belal Mosaferi, Ph.D Student of Physiology
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Remembrance at IBB Institute, University of Tehran

On Wednesday February 27th, an event will be held and IBB, University of Tehran organized by Dr. Ghaffari. This will be held on the 4oth day after Dr. Meisami’s passing. Please comment or email if there are any questions and thank you.

Family Memorial service February 15 in Iran

خويشاوندان و دوستان عزيز

به مناسبت درگذشت نابهنگام اسمعيل عزيز گردهم آييم و راجع به او بگوييم و بشنويم.
انسانی والا، دانشمندی ارزشمند، پرصفا و محبت، چهره ای شاد با چشمانی خندان که از شادی هایش به فراوانی
می گفت و ناسلامتی ها و غم هایش را پنهان می کرد.

ضمناً هر يك از خويشاوندان يا دوستان كه امكان حضور در مجلس يادبود را ندارند، در صورت تمایل خاطرات خودشان از
اسمعيل عزيز را به آدرس ferdowsman@yahoo.ca  ارسال نمايند.

روز جمعه 27/11/91 از ساعت 3 تا 6 بعدازظهر در آدرس فرمانيه غربی، آبكوه چهارم، پلاك 6، آپارتمان 801،

تلفن : 22705831

منصوره خليلی- دختر دايی اسمعيل را سرافراز كنيد.

Sad News: Beautiful poem written by a former student Navzer D. Sachinvala

I feel very sad today, my teacher Professor Esmail Meisami passed away;
He created possibilities in my mind I find impossible to weigh.

Meisami with the D’Javadis admitted me to U. Tehran in 1977;
At that time I truly felt, I was in academic heaven;
They formed my hunger and skills like master-bakers of lavash un-leaven.

At IBB, they sent me to Kashi, Iraj, and Vali to learn immunology and biochemistry.
So I would never feel doubt with abstruseness, and never descend to compromising with in-confident sullenness.

The revolution, then consumed Iran, and scattered academics as animals chased from a barn;
Our hopes, dreams, and homes were left behind;
We stretched and re-connected like strained ropes, and said “never mind.”

Each found her/his way to begin again;
Tenacity, acumen, luck, and efforts delivered no vain.
When challenges were surmounted, each was perched on her/his mountain;
Like Essie, each learned to be resourceful — an unending fountain.

In Iran, Essie and Vali had advised me about my immune deficiency and reactions to stress;
With advisement, they gave me literature to learn and cope when I was struck with M.S.

Later Essie taught me by example, to write and send books to the press;
My words don’t convey my thanks for his humanity and largess.

My friend passed away, January 21, twenty thirteen, and I mourn his loss;
He was as tenacious as arctic moss;
Etched in my mind, are his smile, skills, humanity, and that profile of Nicholas Clause.

Dr. Meisami Final Speech by Asghar Mirarefi

Academic life gallery

Illinois Pictures

Please email me any pictures you would like added thank you.

Illinois Memorial Sevices

memorial-booklet

click here to download the memorial booklet

Dear Friends I have returned from the services in Illinois and it was heartwarming and heartbreaking. More words and images about this service to come soon. Here is the memorial booklet prepared with great affection by Salman Hakimzadeh

 

gallery

There are so many images to add, Im starting with these due to lack of time. If anyone wants to email me pictures I will add them.

Comments from Iraj Ganjian

Please accept my heartfelt condolences upon the loss of your loved one.

Essie was a wonderful person and a good friend to have.

When we left IBB in Iran we were both working
in two separate building opposite each other at university
of California at Berkeley. One day I was going to a public phone to make a
phone call to reject the offer that I received from my present job.  I run into Essie and
as usual he asked me ” where are you going?” and I told him about my purpose.
While we were standing under an Eucalyptus tree He took his time and explained to
me why I was not making a wise decision.
I took his advice and I am very happy that I listened to him;
he is always in my heart and I remember him fondly.
God bless his soul.

Love,
Iraj Ganjian

Services

The burial ceremony of our dearly departed uncle Essie will take place on Fri. Jan. 25 at 11: 00 am  at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Address: 611 E Pennsylvania Ave, Champaign, IL 61820
Phone : (217) 384-7002

There will be a memorial services held on Sat. at IIIini Union/ Illini room 3:30 to 5:30 pm – University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign, IL

Address: 1401 Green St Urbana, IL 61801

Limited reservations for Hotel accommodations are available at the Illini Union Hotel located at the above address under Noshin Meisami.

Hotel # 1-(217)333-1241

Residence for Meisami family

Address: 2110 Georgetown Circle Champaign, IL 61820

Please send all flowers to IIIini Union/Illini room

About Esmail Meisami

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 have a million things to say but I will save them for another time. Words cant express how much I will miss my dad. My best friend, the listener to my problems, and someone who truly knew how to take care of people. Im so lucky you were my dad. We love you always.

Comments

Essie and Nooshin in Hamadan last year

I wanted to get an album together with all of his amazing pictures from Iran. I will post them as soon as I can

Dancing at Samiras Wedding

Last spring we had the pleasure of attending Samiras wedding (Ellen and Ali Estilais daugher) in Los Angeles and had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends

Dad playing with Mark and Mariam at Miller Knox

On my dads last trip out here, we spent a beautiful afternoon feeding the geese at Miller Knox and him and the kids had such a good time. Im so grateful and he looks so young