Honorary Doctorate for William A. Eaton

Department of Physics at Freie Universität Berlin Honors American Scientist. ' 300/2016 from Sep 13, 2016 The Department of Physics at Freie Universität Berlin awarded the American physician and molecular biologist William A. Eaton an honorary doctorate. It was conferred on Tuesday, September 13, 2016, in recognition of "his outstanding work in biophysics and his important contributions to the scientific development of the Department." Eaton has been working in leading positions at the National Institutes of Health, a U.S. Agency for Biomedical Research in Bethesda, Maryland, for 30 years. William A. Eaton joined the National Institutes of Health in 1968 as a medical officer in public health care, and since 1986 he has headed the chemical and physical laboratory there. Eaton is internationally known for his pioneering research on the physics and chemistry of proteins. His fundamental research on sickle-cell disease is an example of the prominent role that biophysical research plays in understanding human diseases. Using laser pulses, Eaton has significantly advanced the research on protein folding.