Dr. Kalyanaraman Honored at Aix-Marseille University in France

Balaraman Kalyanaraman, PhD, the Harry R. and Angeline E. Quadracci Professor in Parkinson’s Research Endowment and professor of biophysics, received the Aix-Marseille University (AMU) Doctor Honoris Causa title on April 9, 2024, in Marseille, France. To celebrate this occasion, a Symposium on Biophysics for Biology and Medicine (PDF) was organized by Micael Hardy, PhD; Olivier Ouari, PhD; and Hakim Karoui, PhD, of AMU.

Drs. Karoui and Hardy of AMU did their postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Dr. Kalyanaraman in the Department of Biophysics at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). Currently, Dr. Hardy is a visiting professor of biophysics at MCW. Their collaboration has resulted in numerous publications, grants, and patents shared by both MCW and AMU.

This honorary degree is a testament to the continued success and excellence in collaborative research between AMU and MCW. This symposium emphasized the synergistic importance of collaborative science in basic and clinical research. It provided the opportunity for scientists to share ideas and research expertise in drug discovery; biomedical and structural biology applications of advanced EPR/NMR spectroscopy and imaging; redox biology; and development and use of new spin traps, spin probes, and fluorescent probes for EPR and dynamic nuclear polarization, detection of reactive nitrogen species, oximetry, mitochondrial bioenergetics, the microbiome and Parkinson’s disease, and photobiology.

Symposium speakers from the Department of Biophysics include Gang Cheng, PhD; Neil Hogg, PhD; Francesca Marassi, PhD; Jeannette Vasquez Vivar, PhD; and Jacek Zielonka, PhD. Support from both MCW and AMU is gratefully acknowledged.