Endre Alexander Balazs

The native form of this personal name is Balazs Endre Alexander. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Endre Alexander Balazs
Born	(1920-01-10)10 January 1920 Budapest, Hungary
Died	29 August 2015(2015-08-29) (aged 95) Saint-Tropez, France
Alma mater	University of Budapest
Occupation	Doctor
Known for	Hyaluronic acid
Awards	Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research (2011)[1]

Endre Alexander Balazs (10 January 1920 – 29 August 2015) was a Hungarian physician and inventor who transformed a natural lubricant into a palliative for arthritic knees as well as an important adjunct for cataract/IOL surgery now routinely used all over the world. He devoted seven decades to exploring the therapeutic potential of hyaluronic acid.[2] He was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012.

Biography

He was born in 1920 in Budapest, Hungary. His father was an engineer at the Budapest Waterworks until the communist takeover after World War II.[2]

He graduated from the University of Budapest in 1942 and started his research career at the Department of Histology and Embryology of the university. In 1947, he continued his research at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.[3] He was the director of ophthalmic research at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center from 1975 to 1982.

He died on 29 August 2015, aged 95, in Saint-Tropez, France.[2]

Philanthropy

He endowed a professorship at the Karolinska Institute.[4]

References

1. Endre A. Balazs - Helen Keller Foundation
2. "Endre A. Balazs, Doctor Who Found a Lubricant for Arthritic Knees, Dies at 95". The New York Times. 3 September 2015.
3. "Endre Alexander Balazs". www.ishas.org. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
4. "Pioneer and donor Endre A. Balazs has passed away". ki.se. Retrieved 13 October 2015.