In Memoriam

It is with deep regret and profound sadness that we report the death of the following AACR members. The AACR is honored to recognize these outstanding members for their dedication to the association and to the field of cancer. Please note that this information is only that which has been volunteered to us by colleagues, friends, and family. The following list includes members who have passed away in the current year. Please email the Membership Department to share additional information on a deceased member.

Deceased Members in 2015​

Robert J. Arceci, MD, PhD
(5/22/1950 - 6/8/2015)
Member since 1990

Robert J. Arceci, MD, PhD, director of the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Hematology and Oncology and co-director of the Ronald A. Matricaria Institute of Molecular Medicine at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona, died June 8, 2015. Arceci had been a member of the AACR since 1990. Read more.

 Arthur Axelrad, MD, PhD
(12/30/1923 - 4/17/2015)
Member since 1956

Arthur Axelrad, MD, PhD, an emeritus member of the AACR who first joined the organization in 1956, died April 17, 2015, at the age of 91. Axelrad, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, was a renowned scientist known for his research on leukemia and hemopoiesis. Read More.

 Michael Brunda, PhD
(12/16/1950 - 5/8/2015)
Member since 1978

Michael J. Brunda, PhD, director of exploratory pharmaceutical development at Roche Pharmaceuticals, died May 8, 2015, at the age of 64. Read More.​

 Gianni Bonadonna, MD
(7/28/1934 - 9/7/2015)
Member since 1969

Gianni Bonadonna, MD, an emeritus member of the AACR, died Sept. 7, 2015, at the age of 81. Bonadonna, considered the “Father of Italian Oncology,” was a pioneer during the early years of cancer chemotherapy. Read More.

Robert L. Cappizzi, MD
(11/20/1938 - 10/22/2015)
Member since 1971

Robert L. Capizzi, MD, emeritus member of the AACR who first joined in 1971, died Oct. 22, 2015, at the age of 76. Capizzi was a founder, president, and chief medical officer of CharlestonPharma, LLC, in Charleston, South Carolina. ​Rea​d more.

Guy G. Chabot, PhD
(8/2/1948 - 2/8/2015)
Member since 1986

Guy G. Chabot, PhD, died Feb. 8, 2015, at the age of 66. He was INSERM research director at the University of Paris Descartes in Paris, France. His resea​rch focused on pharmacokinetics and metabolism. ​Rea​d more.

Isidore Cohn Jr., MD, DSc
(9/25/21- 10/14/15)
Member since 1963

Isidore Cohn Jr., MD, DSc, emeritus member of the AACR, died at the age of 94. Cohn was emeritus chairman and professor of surgery at the Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Medicine in New Orleans. Read more.

Joseph A. DiPaolo, PhD
(6/13/24- 11/3/15)
Member since 1957

Joseph A. DiPaolo, PhD, an emeritus member of the AACR, died Nov. 3, 2015, at the age of 91. An active AACR member since 1957, DiPaolo served on the AACR board of directors from 1983 to 1986. Read more.
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Lois B. Epstein, MD, DSc
(12/29/1933 - 2/6/2015)
Member since 1977
​
Lois B. Epstein, MD, DSc, died Feb. 6, 2015, at the age of 81. She was professor of pediatrics at UCSF until her retirement in 1996. She was a pioneer in the research of interferons. ​Read more.​

Alfred Goodman Gilman, MD, PhD
(7/1/1941 - 12/23/2015)
Member since 2015
​
Alfred Goodman Gilman, MD, PhD, Nobel laureate and fellow of the AACR Academy, died Dec. 23, 2015, at the age of 74. Gilman, regental professor emeritus of pharmacology at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, had a distinguished career as a pharmacology professor, medical school administrator, and industry advisor. ​Read more.​

​Maire T. Hakala-Zakrzewski, PhD
(2/15/1917 - 1/16/2015)
Member since 1963
​
Maire T. Hakala-Zakrzewski, PhD,​​ died Jan. 16, 2015, at the age of 97. Her research focused on basic studies of all aspects of chemotherapy. Prior to her retirement, she worked at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. Read more and see also a tribute from Enrico Mihich, MD, FAACR​. (Adobe Reader required).

Brian E. Henderson, MD
(6/27/1937 - 6/20/2015)
Member since 1987

Brian E. Henderson, MD, former dean of the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, died June 20, 2015, at the age of 77. Henderson, who once served as the director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, was the Kenneth T. Norris Jr. chair in cancer prevention and distinguished professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine. Read more.

Frederick P. Li, MD
(7/7/1940 - 6/12/2015)
Member since 1975

Frederick P. Li, MD, professor emeritus of clinical cancer epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health; professor emeritus of medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and fellow of the AACR Academy, died June 12, 2015. Read more.  

Christoper Marshall, DPhil
(1/19/1949 - 8/8/2015)
Member since 2002

Christopher J. Marshall, DPhil, head of the Division of Cancer Biology and a professor of cell biology at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, died Aug. 8, 2015, at the age of 66.  Read More.

Sidney Mirvish, PhD
(3/12/1929 - 8/13/2015)
Member since 1970

Sidney Mirvish, PhD, professor emeritus at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, died Aug. 25, 2015, at the age of 86. Read More.

Eckhard Podack, MD, PhD
(2/26/1943 - 10/15/2015)
Member since 1986

Eckhard Podack, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida, died Oct. 8, 2015, at the age of 72. Read More.

 Irwin A. Rose, MD, PhD 
(7/16/1926 - 6/2/2015)
Fellow of the AACR Academy

Irwin A. Rose, PhD, a Nobel laureate and fellow of the AACR Academy, died June 2, 2015, at the age of 88. Rose, distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, was known for his groundbreaking work that helped lead to further understanding of diseases including cancer, cystic fibrosis, and Parkinson’s disease. 
Read More.

​​Julie A. Ross, PhD
(3/15/1961 - 6/19/2015)
Member since 1992

Julie A. Ross, PhD, professor and director of the Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, died June 19, 2015, at the age of 54. Ross had been a member of the AACR since 1992. Read More.

​​​Alan C. Sartorelli, PhD
(12/18/31-4/30/2015)
Member since 1960

​ Alan C. Sartorelli, PhD, died April 30, 2015, in Connecticut at age 84. He was a pioneer in cancer chemotherapy, past president of the AACR, and Fellow of the AACR Academy. Read more.

Arthur C. Upton, MD
(2/27/1923 - 2/14​/2015)
Member since 1954
​
Arthur C. Upton, MD, died Feb. 14, 2015, at the age of 92. He was a renowned pathologist and expert in radiation biology​​. He was an emeritus professor of environmental and community medicine at the Rutgers R.W. Johnson Medical School. He was an AACR past-president (1963-1964) and an elected Fellow of the AACR Academy.  ​Read mo​re.​

Dirk Willem van Bekkum, MD
(7/30/1925 - 5/17​/2015)
Member since 1979

Dirk Willem van Bekkum, MD, a founder and former president of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), died July 17, 2015, at the age of 89. Read More.
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Meir Wetzler, MD
(12/1/1954 - 2/23/2015)
Member since 1993
​
Meir Wetzler, MD, died Feb. 23, 2015, at the age of 60. He was chief of the leukemia section and medical director of clinical services in the Department of Medicine at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York​​. Re​ad more.​

 H. Rodney Withers, DSc, MD
(9/21/1932 - 2/25​/2015)
Member since 1992

H. Rodney Withers, DSc, MD, an emeritus member of the AACR, died Feb. 25, 2015, at the age of 82. Withers, an internationally renowned, clinically oriented radiation oncologist, was professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Read More.