Ulla M. Hansen

Ulla M. Hansen, of Bedford, MA, passed away at home, surrounded by her family, on January 23, 2025, at the age of 71, after a year-long battle with cancer. She was Professor emerita in the Department of Biology at Boston University.

She was predeceased by her parents, Ansgar and Jytte Hansen. She is survived by her devoted husband of 45 years, Keith Backman, to whom she provided companionship, joy, inspiration, and meaning; beloved daughters Heather (Jason Turner-Maier) and Lara (Annabelle, and Rowan Parisotto); especially dear sisters Inger Fyfe (Derek) and Annemarie; and numerous nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

She was a rigorous scientist, a fiercely intelligent woman, staunch feminist, and a supporter of humane causes who found joy in family, summer vacations around the United States, Canada, and Europe, pets, birds, music, and her many friends and colleagues, and she will be missed with an intensity that surpasses words.

She was born in Milwaukee, WI and grew up in Akron, OH, where she graduated from Firestone High School. She obtained her A.B. from Oberlin College and her Ph.D. from Harvard University for work in the laboratory of Will McClure.

 After postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Phillip Sharp at MIT, she joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School/Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She was later appointed full professor in the Department of Biology at Boston University, where she conducted research on the control of transcription in eukaryotic cells. Research performed in her laboratory, in close collaboration with the laboratory of Scott Schaus at BU, resulted in the characterization and patenting of compounds that may have use as anti-cancer agents. She also held joint appointments in several other departments at BU. At DFCI and BU, she mentored dozens of students and postdoctoral trainees. For many years, she was also Director of the BU Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Cell Biology, in which capacity she shepherded many other students through the rigors of graduate training. 

There will be no funeral; a memorial service will be held at a future date.