Paul Iaizzo

Paul A. Iaizzo, PhD, is a distinguished professor in Medicine at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, holding positions as Professor in the Departments of Surgery, Integrative Biology & Physiology, and the Carlson School of Management. He serves as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Associate Director for Professional Education and Outreach and holder of the Medtronic Professorship in the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, Director of the Visible Heart® Laboratories, and Director of the Malignant Hyperthermia Biopsy Center. Additionally, he leads the Advanced Technologies for Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-BIO). Iaizzo earned both his MS and PhD degrees, with a focus on Physiology/Neurophysiology, from the University of Minnesota, where he has conducted research and taught graduate and undergraduate courses since joining the faculty in 1990. He is affiliated with graduate faculties in Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, Integrative Biology & Physiology, Biological Science, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and Mechanical Engineering.

Iaizzo's academic interests and research specializations encompass translational systems physiology, physiology of skeletal and cardiac muscle (in vivo, in situ, and in vitro), and medical device design. His work includes multimodal imaging techniques for functional cardiac anatomies and device testing within large mammalian hearts, including human specimens through the Atlas of Human Cardiac Anatomy; cardiac pacing and ablation; muscle pathophysiology and biophysical properties; thermoregulation; black bear hibernation; 3D computational modeling and printing; and educational applications of virtual reality. Major awards and honors include the Distinguished University Teaching Professor designation (2002), election to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2012) for contributions to translational systems physiology and cardiovascular engineering, Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society (FHRS, 2015), Senior Fellow of IEEE (2016), and induction into the Academy for Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the University of Minnesota Medical School (2023). Key publications feature his editorship of the Handbook of Cardiac Anatomy, Physiology, and Devices (fourth edition, 2024) and articles such as "Anatomic complexities of the human right ventricle: Considerations for clinical practice in the electrophysiology laboratory" (2026), "Innovative approach to conduction system pacing: Real-time ECG imaging guidance for precise left bundle branch area pacemaker lead placement" (2026), and "Anatomic, electrical, and hemodynamic characterization of Bachmann bundle in the swine heart" (2025).

Professional Email: iaizz001@umn.edu