Dr. Michael A. Edidin, a Johns Hopkins Egyetem (USA) professzorának díszdoktori avatása a Debreceni Egyetemen 2004. június 4.
Professor Michael Aaron Edidin is a distinguished immunologist and biophysicist whose efforts have significantly advanced understanding of the structure and function of the cell membrane in complex eukaryotic organisms. He was jointly responsible for developing the concept of the membrane as a fluid mosaic lipid bilayer and his experimental work has helped determine how the different components of the structure behave. After graduating in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1960 he completed his PhD at University College London under the supervision of the great Peter Medawar. After postdoctoral training He then returned to the USA as Assistant Professor of Biology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where he has held a chair in biology since 1975. His early studies lead to a longstanding interest in the MHC (major histocompatibility complex) group of surface proteins and had a great influence on his choice of research projects and on his quantitative approach to biological problems. His findings reported in more than 170 original publications have important implications for many aspects of biology.
Professor Edidin visited Debrecen several times in the past twenty years and developed a fruitful scientific collaboration with the Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology leading to many joint publications.