Azerbaijan’s biological science has suffered a heavy loss. Head of the Department of Medical and Biological Sciences of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Physical Culture and Sports, senior researcher of the Department of Experimental Botany of the Institute of Botany of ANAS, corresponding member of ANAS, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Khalil Mammadali oglu Gasimov passed away at the age of 79.

Khalil Gasimov was born on February 28, 1942 in Baku in an intellectual family. He graduated from the Physics Faculty of the Azerbaijan State University in 1965, and from the Institute of Biophysics of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1972. Khalil Gasimov defended his PhD in 1972 and his doctoral dissertation in 1980. The scientist was awarded the title of professor in 1996 and was elected a corresponding member of ANAS in 2001.Khalil Gasimov worked as a senior laboratory assistant at the Institute of Physiology named after academician Abdulla Garayev of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1965-1967,, as an engineer, junior researcher and senior researcher in the Biophysics Laboratory of the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences in 1980-1984, as the head of the laboratory of cell biophysics at the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan in 1984-2018, and as a senior researcher of the Department of Experimental Botany of the Institute of Botany of ANAS in 2018-2021. The scientist worked as a professor at the Department of Physiology of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Physical Culture and Sports in 1994-2004, and as a deputy director and adviser to the director of the Scientific Center of the Azerbaijan National Encyclopedia in 2007-2014. Corresponding member of ANAS Khalil Gasimov has been the head of the Department of Medical and Biological Sciences of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Physical Education and Sport since 2016.

The well-known scientist was one of the leading scientists studying the biophysics and biochemistry of transport systems operating on cell membranes at the molecular level. He was the first to discover a class of membranous polyene antibiotics, to study in detail their effects on membranes, and on this basis to put forward the theory of the formation of ion channels.

Khalil Gasimov was the author of 180 articles, 3 monographs and 7 inventions. His scientific works have been puslished in journals such as “Nature”, “Biochimica et Biophysica Acta”, “Studia Biophysica”, “Pol. J. Chemistry”, “Russian Journal Bioorganic Chemistry”, “J. Experimental biology and medicine”,  “Journal of Experimental Biology and Medicine”, “Biophysics”, “Advances in modern biology”, “Biological membranes”, “Cytology”, “Bioorganic chemistry”, “Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal”, “Antibiotics and medical biotechnology”.The scientist delivered lectures at international scientific symposiums, congresses and conferences in more than 10 countries.

Six doctors of philosophy and one doctor of sciences were trained under the scientific guidance and consultation of the corresponding member of ANAS Khalil Gasimov.

In different years, the scientist was a member of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Botany of ANAS, the Dissertation Defense Council operating at this institute, the Presidium of the Supreme Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He has been a member of the Membrane Council under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 2003.

Khalil Gasimov was repeatedly awarded with Honorary Decrees of the Presidium of ANAS.

The dear memory of the well-known biophysicist, corresponding member of ANAS Khalil Gasimov will always live in the hearts of those who know him.

Rest in peace!