Honkanen retires after transformative career in research and mentorship
Posted on June 1, 2026 by Lindsay Hughes
For more than three decades, Richard Honkanen, Ph.D., has helped shape the University
of South Alabama through groundbreaking research, collaborative leadership, and a
sincere commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Now, Honkanen is retiring as professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, leaving behind a legacy of scientific discovery that helped elevate the Whiddon College of Medicine’s research reputation on a global scale.
After earning his doctorate in microbiology from the University of Georgia, he completed postdoctoral fellowships in biochemistry at the Medical College of Georgia and molecular oncology at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.
Honkanen joined the Whiddon College of Medicine faculty in 1993 as an assistant professor and later joined the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute as a cancer researcher.
Over the course of his career, Honkanen became internationally recognized for his research on protein phosphatases, enzymes that regulate critical cellular processes. His work attracted more than $10 million in lifetime research funding, including support from the National Institutes of Health (National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH Common Fund), the American Heart Association, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration/National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Jordan’s Guardian Angels Foundation.
Among his many accomplishments, Honkanen received a prestigious NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award for a project focused on paradigm-shifting mechanism for cholesterol clearance with the potential to reverse cardiovascular disease. Patents resulting from that work were licensed to Repair Athero, Inc., a biotechnology startup company based in New York and was later acquired by Repair Biotherapeutics.
Additionally, Honkanen has published more than 100 scientific papers, served on numerous NIH study sections, and chaired several national review panels.
Making a difference
After experiencing the competitive research environment early in his career, Honkanen
found the promise of collaboration at USA a refreshing change.
He was recruited by Nick Aronson, Ph.D., the chair of biochemistry at the time, and he recalled that Aubrey Taylor, Ph.D., then chair of physiology, was “the one who closed the sale” during his interview at South.
Taylor told him, “You’re going to be a good scientist wherever you are, but you’re not going to change the university there. If you leave, 500 people will want your job, and they’ll just replace you with another good scientist. But if you come here, you can help us make a difference.”
Since then, Honkanen has built a career marked by scientific innovation and forging connections across disciplines.
“And that’s really what I’ve enjoyed the most,” he said. “I’ve published with faculty from every basic science department, clinical departments, and Chemistry and others outside of the College of Medicine. Here, at USA I actually found the collaborators that I was looking for and hoping for.”
Christopher Davies, Ph.D., associate dean for research at the Whiddon College of Medicine and a professor of biochemistry and microbiology, said Honkanen’s leadership helped strengthen both the department and the college’s research enterprise.
“As faculty, we often have good ideas, but it really takes a chair sometimes to funnel and shape those ideas into something the outside world will think is worthy of support,” Davies said.
Under Honkanen’s leadership, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology more than doubled its research award portfolio in the past year, increasing from $1.5 million to $3.3 million.
Davies also noted that Honkanen continued to maintain a successful research profile while serving as chair, a balancing act few accomplish well.
“Being a chair has all these administrative responsibilities, but at the same time,
you’re a role model,” Davies said. “You have to sustain your own success. You have
to stay funded, and that’s not easy at all.”
Colleagues consistently described Honkanen as both a scientific visionary and a supportive
mentor.
“His scientific support and brainstorming ideas are unparalleled,” said Aishwarya Prakash, Ph.D., an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. “He is one of the true scientific gurus I’ve ever met and will know in my scientific career.”
Prakash also praised Honkanen for investing in faculty and trainees by supporting conference travel, publications and professional development opportunities.
Others noted Honkanen’s enthusiasm for discovery.
“Rich is the one who has the most fun doing research, and how important is that?” said Wito Richter, Ph.D., an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. “We dedicate our lives to doing research, and you have fun doing it.”
Richter added, “Rich would be at the top of the list of those who would make an impact on science in the world.”
For Honkanen, mentoring students remained one of the most rewarding parts of his career.
“That’s probably my favorite part of my job,” he said. “When you take on a new a Ph.D. student, they come in excited about science. At first, they think their professor knows everything. Then later they realize you don’t know everything. And eventually they’re telling you things you haven’t even thought of yet. That’s the progression you want to see.”
As he reflected on his tenure, Honkanen expressed gratitude for the colleagues and community that shaped his experience at USA.
“It’s been an easy department to be a part of and to lead,” he said. Drawing a comparison between the department and a neighborhood, he added, “I’ve had really great neighbors.”