Mark Batzer

Mark A. Batzer (October 26, 1961 – January 21, 2026) was an American geneticist who was a LSU Boyd Professor and held the Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite Distinguished Professor at Louisiana State University. Batzer worked in genomics and in the understanding of Alu elements. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2008. In 2020, Batzer was named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors for holding multiple patents in Forensic DNA analysis.

Education

Batzer received his undergraduate degree at Michigan State University and a PhD from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He completed post-doctoral work at LSU Health Sciences Center identifying the subfamily structure of Alu elemnts.

Personal life

Batzer was married to Pam Richard, a pediatrician. He died on January 21, 2026, at the age of 64.

References

  1. 1 2 "LSU's Batzer elected by National Academy of Inventors". The Daily Review. August 20, 2020. p. 2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Deininger, Prescott L.; Sherry, Stephen T.; Walker, Jerilyn A.; Xing, Jinchuan; Ray, David A.; Cordaux, Richard; Sen, Shurjo K. (2026-08-07). "Obituary: Dr. Mark Andrew Batzer: October 26, 1961 - January 21, 2026". Mobile DNA. 17 (1). doi:10.1186/s13100-026-00408-w. ISSN 1759-8753. PMC 13449856.
  3. ↑ "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows". aaas.org. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved September 8, 2026.