Dr. Valerian Kagan Honored With Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Valerian Kagan, PhD, 
a professor and vice chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, has been selected for a 2013-14 Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant. Administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is the flagship international educational exchange effort sponsored by the U.S. government. The Fulbright Program provides teaching and/or research opportunities to U.S. faculty and experienced professionals in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.
Dr. Kagan is conducting his Fulbright research at McMaster University in Ontario, through the end of December 2013. While in Canada, he will continue his research into developing substances that would assist the human body in mitigating the effects of harmful levels of radiation. The substances would potentially be used in incidents such as a “dirty” bomb attack or a nuclear power plant failure; they could also be useful in radiation therapy during cancer treatment.
Dr. Kagan’s areas of research and expertise pertain to free radical biochemistry. In addition to Pitt, he has taught and conducted research at such notable international institutions as Karolinska Institute in Sweden, King’s College in London, the Russian State Medical University in Moscow, the Taipei Medical University in China, and the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Kagan is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science as well as a member of the American Society of Toxicology and the International Society for Free Radical Research.
Dr. Kagan earned BS, MS, and PhD degrees in biochemistry and biophysics at Lomonosov Moscow State University. He also earned a Doctor of Science degree in biochemistry and biophysics at the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Established in 1946 by Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Annually, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program sends approximately 800 American professionals to 155 countries to lecture, research, and participate in a range of endeavors.
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