On 3rd March, a very special international symposium was held to mark the 80th birthday of AE Cardiff Hub Director, Professor Ole Petersen.
Organised by Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences and the Physiological Society, and chaired by Oleg and Julia Gerasimenko, eminent speakers, including 6 members of Academia Europaea, gathered at Cardiff University’s historic Glamorgan Council Chamber.
Professor Jim Murray MAE, Head of Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences, opened the symposium celebrating Ole’s lifetime and achievement. Professor Murray thanked Ole for his contribution to science and for his service.
Professor Valerie O’Donnell MAE from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine expressed her gratitude for Ole’s mentorship, whilst Professor Carl Petersen MAE (EPFL Lausanne), Ole’s son, paid tribute to his father for encouraging and inspiring him and his brother. Members of Ole’s family had flown in from Japan, Singapore and Switzerland to celebrate this special occasion.
Other MAEs present included Professor Alex Verkhratsky MAE (Manchester University) and Professor Anant Parekh MAE (NIEHS/NIH).
About Professor Ole Petersen MAE
Ole Petersen is Professor of Physiology in the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University. As one of the world’s prominent physiologists, he leads a research group on disease of the pancreas. Petersen was elected Fellow of The Royal Society in 2000, Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2010 and gave the Leopoldina Lecture in 2012. He received the Nordic Insulin Foundation’s Jacobaeus Prize (1994), the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Purkynĕ Medal (2003) and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2008 for ‘Services to Science’.
In 2017, he was elected Honorary Member of the German Society for Gastroenterology, Digestive & Metabolic Diseases. More recently, he received the American Physiological Society’s Walter B Cannon Memorial Award and the prestigious Palade Prize.
Professor Petersen is Vice-President of Academia Europaea and Director of the AE Cardiff Knowledge Hub. He is Chief Editor of American Physiological Society’s Open Access flagship journal ‘Function’ launched in 2020.
6th March 2023. For further information please contact AECardiffHub@cardiff.ac.uk
