SLS 17RS-2331 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 141
BY SENATOR CLAITOR
COMMENDATIONS. Commends World War II American war hero and scientific
researcher extraordinaire Dr. William Hansel posthumously.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend World War II American war hero and scientific researcher extraordinaire Dr.
3 William Hansel posthumously on this Memorial Day.
4 WHEREAS, Dr. William Hansel, a Baton Rouge resident at the time of his death on
5 January 2, 2017, began his remarkable scientific career at Cornell University and ended
6 almost seven decades later, was continuing his stellar research at LSU's Pennington
7 Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge with unabated enthusiasm and keen intellect
8 that were his hallmarks; and
9 WHEREAS, Dr. Hansel was born September 16, 1918, in Vale Summit, MD, was
10 a graduate of the University of Maryland, and earned his Master of Science and PhD degrees
11 from Cornell University; and
12 WHEREAS, his life plans, like most of his contemporaries, was interrupted by World
13 War II, he served with great distinction with General George Patton's Ghost Corps during
14 Battle of the Bulge and was awarded two Purple Hearts for his heroism; and
15 WHEREAS, Dr. Hansel, lauded multiple times during his professional career for his
16 achievements, considered "dashing through the Rhine River" during his military service as
17 his proudest accomplishment; and
18 WHEREAS, in 1949, Dr. Hansel joined the faculty of Cornell University and after
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1 years of service served as Chair of the Department of Physiology and the distinguished
2 Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Animal Physiology before retiring; and
3 WHEREAS, although he left Cornell University after four decades on its faculty,
4 retirement from his active and productive life as a research scientist was never a
5 consideration for Dr. Hansel, in 1990 he joined Louisiana State University as the Gordon
6 Cain Professor where he continued his research in reproductive biology; and
7 WHEREAS, in 1994 he became one of the first scientists at the then-new Pennington
8 Biomedical Research Center; and
9 WHEREAS, in 1995 his wife, Milbrey, who predeceased him in 1997, was diagnosed
10 with ovarian cancer, prompting Dr. Hansel to immediately begin applying his research
11 expertise to finding a new treatment for cancer; and
12 WHEREAS, he recalled that shortly thereafter he was attending a conference in
13 Poland where a talk on the distribution of receptors for pituitary hormone in cancer made
14 him realize that the scientific research at Pennington Biomedical held the potential answer;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, that realization was the impetus for his work over the next several
17 decades as Dr. Hansel and his laboratory worked to develop a new class of cancer drugs to
18 target and destroy primary cancer tumors as well as the sites to which it spread; and
19 WHEREAS, Dr. Hansel is the originator and coinventor of Cationic Lytic Peptide
20 Technology, a new class of cancer drugs that target and destroy human breast, ovarian,
21 prostate, and testicular cancer cells currently being tested in clinical trials at MD Anderson
22 Cancer Center; and
23 WHEREAS, his most recent research was focused on therapies for prostate cancer;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, during his long and storied academic career, Dr. Hansel received many
26 awards including the 2014 Renowned Physiologist accolade from the American Physiology
27 Society; and
28 WHEREAS, he was not only a superior research scientist, he also was a noted
29 teacher who mentored more than 100 pre- and postdoctoral students; and
30 WHEREAS, Dr. Hansel published more than 300 scientific articles; and
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1 WHEREAS, his passion for his work was demonstrated daily to his many colleagues
2 at Pennington Biomedical Research Center where he continued to maintain office hours as
3 recently as December 2016; and
4 WHEREAS, on January 2nd at the age of 98, Dr. Hansel passed away, but the legacy
5 of his public service through scientific contributions will continue to make a difference in
6 the lives of individuals with cancer and other chronic diseases in perpetuity.
7 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
8 hereby commends World War II American war hero and scientific researcher extraordinaire
9 Dr. William Hansel posthumously on this Memorial Day.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
11 hereby expresses its sincerest gratitude to Dr. William Hansel for his great service to
12 America through his military heroism, for his invaluable contributions to Pennington
13 Biomedical's research and training programs, and for his life of dedication to public service
14 through biomedical research.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jerry J. Guillot.
DIGEST
SR 141 Original 2017 Regular Session Claitor
Commends World War II American war hero and scientific researcher extraordinaire Dr.
William Hansel posthumously on this Memorial Day.
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