Rib Lake Schools - HALL OF FAME

Rib Lake Schools

Dr. Kurt A. Zimmerman compares running a research lab with being a small business owner.

His employees are the lab assistants including a high schooler, undergraduates, graduate students and a post-doctoral researcher. “It is like raising older children,” he said.

The product they produce is research into causes and potential treatments of polycystic kidney disease. They do research, publish papers with their findings, and write for grants to allow the lab to continue its work.

“We need about three-quarters of a million dollars to keep the lab going each year,” he explained.

Dr. Zimmerman is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. His current research lab is studying how immune cells influence the development and progression of cystic kidney disease. His team’s research goal is to not only understand the complex mechanisms leading to cystic kidney disease, but to ultimately improve treatment options for cystic kidney disease patients.

Dr. Zimmerman is a 2004 graduate of Rib Lake High School and on Friday became the 16th member of Rib Lake’s Alumni Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at the high school with students, community members, family and friends present. He is the son of Larry and Sandra Zimmerman. He and his wife, Dr. Chelsea Zimmerman, have two children, Georgia and Sutton.

As Hall of Fame committee member Craig Scheithauer noted during the ceremony, Dr. Zimmerman joins an elite group among Rib Lake graduates, estimating that less than one half of percent of all the graduates from the school have received that recognition.

Story by: Brian Wilson | Layout by: Janna Johnson When Dr. Zimmerman was a student at Rib Lake High School, becoming a nationally- recognized research scientist was not even on his radar as a potential career, let alone being any sort of goal.

He credited Fred Hengst who taught science at Rib Lake during his junior and senior year, with being the first teacher to truly challenge him. Dr. Zimmerman describes his younger self as not having applied himself, graduating “12th or 13th” in his class at Rib Lake High School.

“He saw potential in me. He challenged me to be better and to try harder,” Dr. Zimmerman said.

After graduating from Rib Lake, Dr. Zimmerman went to UW-Eau Claire where he was further guided by professors who took him under their wings and encouraged him to pursue postgraduate research.

He went on to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2009. He quipped that one of the primary reasons for choosing that school was because there was no snow there.

There he met Dr. Bradley Yoder. “He was the first to get me to try 100%,” Dr. Zimmerman said. For the first time, he said he focused on applying himself 100% to academics.

He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Pathology in 2014. During his time in graduate school in Alabama, Dr. Zimmerman completed four peer-reviewed manuscripts, 11 presentations both locally and nationally, and received 10 competitive awards, including the UAB Joint Health Science Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

Following the completion of his Ph.D., Dr. Zimmerman completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UAB. During this time, Dr. Zimmerman made several novel discoveries regarding immune cells in kidney disease. He also published a paradigm-shifting study showing that immune cells were evolutionarily conserved across multiple mammalian species.

Dr. Zimmerman completed his post-doctoral studies having 14 manuscripts published, making 30 local and national presentations, and earning a handful of awards, including the UAB Outstanding Peer Mentor Award and being recognized as the Karen L. Campbell fellow by the American Society of Nephrology. This culminated in Dr. Zimmerman receiving the prestigious Career Development Award by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which awarded him $600,000 to start his own independent research.

Today, Dr. Zimmerman maintains his laboratory at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center. Since he began this lab, he has received 14 grants from various agencies totaling more than $3.7 million dollars in research support for his lab. This money has been used to support Ph.D. students, research technicians, and staff, as well as pay for research supplies.

At Friday’s ceremony, Dr. Zimmerman addressed the students in the room, challenging them to find their passion.

He said it was important to work hard and stay focused and find good mentors along the way.

Prior Rib Lake Hall of Fame Inductees: Walter Gojmerac Shirley Martin Carl Marschke Wayne Tlusty Daniel Mathias John Taylor Joseph “Pep” Simek Ronald Simek Dr. Kate Alden Tim Laher Dr. Joseph Zondlo Bonnie Christofferson Pearson Joshua Peterson Edwin Blomberg Richard Parks