Marion Greaser

    Animal Science Emeritus Professor - Meat Science

    Phone

    608-263-3308

    Office Location

    1675 Observatory Drive, Room 266                            Madison, WI 53706-1205

    Photo of Marion Greaser

    Marion Lewis Greaser was born in Vinton Iowa to Lewis and Elisabeth Greaser. Marion grew up
    on a farm with his sister Frances. His father was a farmer and a former member of the Iowa House
    of Representatives; his mother was a third grade teacher before she married. A few of Marion’s
    interests were participation in 4-H, football and music, including roles in several high school
    musicals.

    Marion received his B.S. in Animal Science at Iowa State University (1960-1964) and earned his
    M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin (Biochemistry; Meat & Animal Science, joint
    major; 1964-1968). Dr. Greaser held a NIH postdoctoral fellow position (1968-1971) at the
    Boston Biomedical Research Institute before joining the University of Wisconsin faculty in the
    Department of Meat and Animal Science in 1971. His appointment was primarily research (80%)
    along with an instructional role (20%).

    Marion met his wife to be, Marilyn, while at Iowa State University. They have a daughter, Suzi
    Grundahl and a son, Scott, along with 3 grandchildren. Marion has been active and assumed
    leadership roles in Westwood Christian Church, Madison, WI. Marion has been a passionate
    Badger fan, enjoying the successes as well as the fine effort of the UW football and basketball
    athletes. Amazingly even upon retirement he remains very active in playing intramural soccer.

    Dr. Greaser completed an impressive 42 years of faculty service in June 2013. He has been the
    primary instructor for the graduate Muscle Biology 725 course and a co-instructor for the
    undergraduate Animal Science 305 throughout this period. He has also lectured and supervised
    laboratories in the Biocore program, and made shorter term contributions to other Animal Science
    and Food Science courses. He co-authored a widely used undergraduate textbook entitled “The
    Meat We Eat”. During his career he supervised 18 postdoctoral or sabbatical fellows, 12 PhD
    students, 3 MS students, and numerous undergraduates. In addition he has provided extensive
    mentoring of many other graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in the Meat Science/Muscle
    Biology program.

    Dr. Greaser’s research program has been a unique blend of fundamental work related to muscle
    contraction and muscle growth coupled with applied agricultural research in the area of meat
    science. His early work led to the characterization and naming of the subunits of the protein
    troponin. Later in his career he made major contributions to understanding the structure and
    function of the giant protein titin, including a discovery of a mutation in rats that mimics human
    dilated cardiomyopathy. Affectionately his co-workers named him the “Titan of Titin”.

    Dr. Greaser’s research also led to new insights in the meat science area. He and his co-workers
    were first to show that titin becomes structurally altered in postmortem muscle, and that this
    alteration contributes to improved meat tenderness. In addition he collaborated in the development
    of a patented procedure that uses sodium bicarbonate to improve pork meat quality.
    His work has resulted in 169 refereed publications, 44 symposium and invited presentations, 14
    book chapters, and one textbook. These publications had over 9000 literature citations as of April
    2013 (Google Scholar) and his legacy will undoubtedly influence generations to come.

    Dr. Greaser received numerous honors including the Distinguished Research Award from the
    American Meat Science Association, the Meats Research Award from the American Society of
    Animal Science, and the Outstanding Researcher Award from the American Heart Association of
    Wisconsin. Dr. Greaser has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Food Science, the
    Journal of Muscle Foods, Meat Science, and the Encyclopedia of Animal Science. He also served
    a 5 year term as the Campbell-Bascom Professor.

    Dr. Greaser also served the University of Wisconsin-Madison as Director of the Muscle Biology
    Laboratory for many years and on numerous university committees.

    Dr. Greaser is a stellar professional and a true friend of so many. All of Dr. Greaser’s colleagues,
    students, and other mentees are so very pleased with Professor Marion Lewis Greaser’s induction
    into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame.