UNMC pulmonologist Joe Sisson, MD, a clinician-scientist remembered for his mentoring, innovation and honesty, died Jan. 5. He was 71.
The Waterloo, Iowa, native joined UNMC in 1987 and led the UNMC Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine from 1997 to 2021. Notably, when he stepped down, he was the longest-serving pulmonary chief in the United States. He also served as interim chair for the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine from 1999 to 2001. He retired as emeritus faculty in 2021.
UNMC College of Medicine Dean Bradley Britigan, MD, called Dr. Sisson one of the pillars of the college.
“Over his decades at UNMC, he epitomized the best of what it means to be a physician-scientist,” Dr. Britigan said. “He was an outstanding clinician who also continued to ask the question why – a characteristic that also made him an exceptional investigator. He selflessly devoted numerous hours of his time to mentoring the faculty of the pulmonary division he led to assure their success. We are all better for having known and worked with Joe.”
Dr. Sisson was an international expert on cilia, the tiny, hair-like fibers that sweep mucus out of the lungs. Yet, when he – and his wife, Jennifer Larsen, MD, who went on to became UNMC’s second-ever vice chancellor for research – arrived at UNMC in 1987, no one on campus was studying cilia. Dr. Sisson later told UNMC Today: “Dr. Stephen Rennard, who recruited me to UNMC, suggested the study of cilia would be interesting, productive and complement other research ongoing in our section. He was right on all three counts.”
Dr. Sisson received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health from 1991-2018, including a prestigious MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award reserved for only the most outstanding research projects. With the MERIT Award, he further studied the stimulation effects of alcohol on airway clearance.
“Joe Sisson epitomized every aspect of UNMC’s mission,” said UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD. “Internationally recognized as a researcher and inventor, innovative and impactful as a clinical leader, caring and committed as an educator and mentor – Joe had all the tools and was widely respected. This is a great loss for the UNMC community, and we will miss him greatly. Our condolences and thoughts are with Dr. Larsen and the family.”
Read Dr. Sisson’s obituary at this link.
Always curious, Dr. Sisson was the inventor of the patented software (Sisson-Ammons Video Analysis: SAVA) now used by laboratories around the world to analyze cilia motion. His passion for developing databases led him to create the database, now called ADIS, to manage his division that was adopted by the department of internal medicine, then expanded to the entire UNMC College of Medicine.
In 2008, Dr. Sisson received UNMC’s Distinguished Scientist Award for his research into how alcohol, smoke and organic dusts disturb the function of lung cilia. In 2015, he received UNMC’s Research Leadership Award, which honors scientists who have a longstanding research funding history and serve as research leaders and mentors on campus.
Debra Romberger, MD, Henry J. Lenhnoff Professor and former chair of the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine, said Dr. Sisson excelled in all the missions of an academic physician.
“He was a creative clinician-scientist, a compassionate skilled physician and a passionate educator,” she said. “His creativity in studying how cilia that line the airways are controlled led to a novel technique to measure cilia function that was used by others around the world.
“He was as skilled at the bedside in the ICU as he was at the bench with his research. He also loved to help trainees of all levels understand lung conditions and always took time to teach in the most engaging ways. He did all these things in a humble, unassuming way.”
Under his leadership, the PCCSM division thrived, more than doubling in size. Colleagues say he expanded critical care medicine to make the medical center the place to go for families in the worst moments of their lives, he was actively involved in assessing new technologies for ICU care, and he served as a national consultant when other ICUs were considering technology solutions.
“Dr. Sisson was an excellent teacher, skilled clinician and talented investigator,” said Mark Rupp, MD, professor and interim chair of the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine. “He was a warm, caring and generous colleague, and he will long be missed.”
A Renaissance man, Dr. Sisson was an amateur woodworker, an aficionado of music (particularly jazz), art (particularly van Gogh) and Belgian beers. He also enjoyed reading fiction and history, traveling and learning about new cultures.
He earned his medical degree from the University of Iowa in 1979 and completed his residency and fellowship training at the University of Utah. He then did a research post-doc with the National Institutes of Health-Pulmonology before being recruited to UNMC.
Visitation will be Friday (Jan. 10) from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Heafey, Hoffman, Dworak, Cutler, 7805 W. Center Road, followed by a celebration of life service Saturday (Jan. 11) at 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney St. in Omaha.
Memorials can be made to the Joseph Sisson, MD, Faculty Development and Mentorship Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation (01156210), the First Unitarian Church or the University of Northern Iowa Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Joe and Jennifer exemplify talent, loyalty, leadership and commitment…… to their family, friends, teams and UNMC at large. They have made a huge impact on so many people. Thank you doesn’t seem like enough. You will be missed, Joe.
So sorry to hear about an incredible loss to the UNMC and Omaha Community
So sorry to hear the sad news of the passing of Dr. Joe. He was one of the finest and a great asset to University of Nebraska Medical Center. Joe helped our international programs a lot and travelled with me to the Middle East. Always so eager and excited to meet new people and learn other cultures. He will be sorely missed. May his soul rest in peace.
I worked as a Post Doc in Dr. Sisson’s lab for 4 1/2 years. He was an incredible mentor that allowed you to be curious, research the question, make mistakes and talk through the process. He embodied and exemplified what a great mentor is. I learned more than just the scientific process, grant writing, and scientific endeavors from Joe. He shared his zest for life, craft beer, jazz music, art, travel, and how to organize photos on your Mac computer with anyone and everyone.
I am thankful for having had the honor and privilege to have known Joe. To have earned from him and had the opportunity to see the world through his eyes.
The loss of Joe was staggering for the medical and research communities. I met him through his love of woodworking a generational gift he was passionate about. I learned more from him in his beloved workshop than from any other source. The treehouse and deck he built were described with the same enthusiasm he had explaining pulmonary medicine to me. I regret not having the opportunity to work with him clinically.
Our thoughts go out to his friends and loving family.
While I am truly saddened by the news of Joe’s passing, I am grateful to have worked with him. Dr. Sisson was “Joe” to everyone. Faculty, staff, students, Joe treated everyone as an equal. His accomplishments are impressive, but his compassion for others is how he will be remembered. An icon has passed, but his legacy will live on. Godspeed Joe!
Dr Sisson was one of kindest physicians I had the opportunity to work with. He was also attentive and willing to help and listen as well as to teach.
Dr. Sisson cared for my father in law at the end of his life in the ICU. His efforts, coming in to manage medications and ventilator settings through the night on the day after New Year’s, gave our family extra time with my father in law. He was extremely compassionate and kind.
Joe was a terrific person in every respect. He not only was a masterful scientist, but an excellent clinician. He was a great leader and clinician. May he rest in peace. Hal Maurer
So sorry to hear this news. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Dr. Sisson was so very kind and thoughtful during the years I worked in Pulmonary. He will be missed by all who knew him.
I worked in the pulmonary physiology lab with Joe in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was a wonderful person and a great doctor, with a terrific sense of humor. It’s a very sad loss.
Joe Sisson was a great physician!
I am very saddened to learn of Joe Sisson’s passing. He was my colleague for more than 30 years, as we came to UNMC at about the same time in the late 1980s. I cannot add very much to the many accolades others have shared about his intellectual curiosity, research acumen, clinical skills, leadership, and gentility. Instead, I would like to celebrate his teaching skills, which were, of course, also outstanding. He was a master of putting together lecture presentations, as slide sets and later in PowerPoint format. I often attended his pre-clinical lectures in the COM to learn from his style and approach. His lectures were models of clarity, and the medical students attended them enthusiastically and in large numbers because of their value-added quality. I have missed seeing him on campus since we both retired. My sincere condolences to Jennifer, the Sisson family, and Joe’s many UNMC friends at his passing.
I very distinctly remember my very first interaction with Joe. I was on my second round of interviews for the MD/PhD program at UNMC and he happened to be one of the faculty invited to the dinner. I had no idea who he was at the time but I remember him introducing some of the research he had developed studying cow tracheas exposed to alcohol and also him talking about his son recently getting a job in New York. He was charismatic and friendly and just a nice guy. Even though, at the time, none of my research interests overlapped with his, I remember him saying something to the effect of “If you’re ever interested in learning more about drunken cattle, stop by the lab sometime.” The interaction from the dinner stuck with me. Fast forward about 18 months later, I remembered that interaction when I was trying to find something to do for my last summer lab rotation. I reached out to him and without hesitation he invited me into the lab as a mentee. His energy, enthusiasm and passion for my education and research during that rotation was contagious as was Joe’s overall positive outlook and ability to build people up no matter their level or struggle. This contagion led to my choosing him as my PhD mentor and I spent 6 years working in his lab but gained him as a lifelong mentor and friend during that time. He inspired me every single day. We had two standing scheduled meetings per week, a journal club and a progress meeting and those were some of my most treasured times because I always came out of those meetings re-energized and optimistic not only toward whatever project I was working on, but toward life in general. There was something about his personality that really sparked that in me. But beyond the lab and beyond the medicine Joe really and truly cared, he always emphasized that I was seeking my goals and we often had long conversations about the interactions of my academic and professional goals intertwined with my personal and family goals. I was pretty naïve to medicine and research not having had any real personal or family experience prior starting my MD/PhD training. Joe took that on head first and was available to me anytime I needed, and for anything academic related or not. He even dropped my newlywed wife and I off at the airport for our honeymoon and helped me with some of the wooden parts of a small fishing boat (he had a real knack and passion for woodworking). He truly had a passion for other people and their success not only in academia and medicine, but also in life in general.
Dr. Sisson was an incredible teacher, and just a wonderful friendly face – always smiling – to see around campus. I know he has an incredible family, and my heart goes out to them with this loss. 71 years is not enough for such a kind, and clearly impactful, person.
We need more Dr. Sisson’s.
Joe will be much missed. He was unfailingly cheerful and equally committed. His accomplishments are many: gifted teacher, clinician, successful researcher. His contributions to the development of UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are equally important. From establishing the first networked system of computers at UNMC (done under the cloak of darkness) to developing the ADIS system, our institution has been importantly shaped by Joe’s efforts. In particular, he shaped the development of our current system of critical care, which is essential for Nebraska Medicine to function. All this was done in a way that uniquely reflected his gregarious nature, which endeared him to all with whom he worked. His many legacies at UNMC remain, but we will all miss him.
I had Dr. Sisson as a resident- he was an example to aspire too.
Joe was one the kindest physicians I have ever met. He cared deeply about his colleagues and junior faculty. He taught me that ‘Serious Medicine’ was not just clever, innovative medicine-it was love and compassion for patients AND each other. He cared and spoke up for the voiceless, before there were fancy terms for it. He fostered an environment of excellence, empathy and honesty. The world is a better place today, because of Joe.
I loved and respected Joe and I will miss him.
This is a sad moment for the UNMC community. Joe was without question on of the best clinicians and scientists to have worked at this institution. More importantly, he was an outstanding colleague and friend. He had an appointment in our department when I was Chair and we interacted often. I am grateful to have known him. May his memory be a blessing.
Not much to add to the stellar comments about Joe. He always brought a smile to my face – what a dude! My condolences to Jennifer and the family on the loss of this true superstar.
I have had many excellent mentors in my developing career.
Dr. Sisson, taught me how to be a faculty member. He taught and led by example. A true professional who lifted up others around him. He will be sadly missed.
He was a true healer! He and Dr Jennifer were also role models for me as a medical student married to another physician!! Blessings to all who will missing him!
So sorry to hear of Dr. Sisson’s spirit journey. I will be praying for him, Dr. Larsen and the entire Sisson family.
This is a sad moment. Joe was without question one of the easiest going people I have known on campus. I am grateful to have known him. May he RIP
Condolences to the family
The original “Stach”, the pulmonary fellows often referred to Joe as the “Stach”, long before I ever grew mine, (though I grew mine to match my German Dancing).
I started at the Med Center in early spring 1998 just after the merger. Joe, Dr Sisson, was one of the physicians that showed the most respect for the Respiratory Therapists. He asked us to be involved in the monthly education of the residents and fellows that rotated thru the ICUs. This gave the residents a hands on knowledge of the RTs duties and the value of the RTs knowledge on the ventilators and the treatments their patients were receiving.
Joe would sometimes walk along next to the conference table and tell the residents this was a normal breath, then he would hop up on the table and walk along the table top describing that as breathing on PEEP.
Respiratory Therapists rounding in the units with the Critical Care teams was a great advantage fostered by Joe and continues to this day, in one form or another, with the multiple provider teams we serve today.
Joe’s enthusiasm for always questioning and communicating with every care giver is what I remember most and try to carry forward as a tribute to having had the joy of working with and for Dr. Sisson.
May God rest his soul and bring peace to his family.
Uncle Joe was such a kind man, I’m going to miss him very much.
Really devastated to hear this news. He was an incredible teacher on ICU rounds – I learned so much about ventilators from him. Rest in peace.
Joe was my boss for a while and taught me so much during that time. He loved databases as some have mentioned and if he could only get me to understand how cool they were, I would love them too!! Always teaching! Even in the last months of his life he would talk about teaching and his approach to teaching the fellows. His curiosity was infectious and his smile genuine. I will always remember him with a smile and that curious look in his eyes.