There are no replacements yet for the Harvard University biologist whose body was found in the Mississippi River on Dec. 20.
Don C. Wiley, who was reported missing Nov. 16, taught at Harvard for 30 years, and friends and colleagues said his contributions to the university left a profound impact on campus and beyond.
“All of us are profoundly saddened by the news of Don Wiley’s death,” said Harvard President Lawrence Summers in a statement. “He was a brilliant biologist and a greatly admired member of this community, and this loss leaves a tremendous void.”
“Don’s contributions to our understanding of immune system function and viral infection have had an extraordinary impact,” said Molecular and Cellular Biology department Chair Andrew McMahon in a statement. “He tackled important biological problems with a precision, clarity and insight that was inspirational.”
“It’s really tragic that he should die right when he was at the top of his career,” said Harvard sophomore Shaun Payne, who is studying biology in Wiley’s former department.
Although Payne never took any classes with Wiley, he was aware of his contributions to the department and had read many of his journals and publications.
Wiley’s focus on viruses in many of his studies had originally raised speculation of a terrorist connection to his Nov. 16 disappearance, with some raising the possibility of a kidnapping. A medical examiner’s report concluded Wiley accidentally fell 135 feet to his death in the Mississippi River on Nov. 16.
The Shelby County Medical Examiner’s report determined Wiley lost his balance while checking for damages to his car after a minor accident on a Memphis Interstate 40 bridge. He then reportedly fell into the Mississippi River, where his body was discovered Dec. 20.
Professor Jack Strominger, Wiley’s longtime friend and colleague, emphasized Wiley’s expertise in his field and refuted any connection to bioterrorism.
“He is a beacon of scientific integrity and is very precise in his approach to scientific issues,” he said in a statement released Nov. 27. “Don never worked with live viruses and I doubt he even knows how to produce them … I cannot think of any possible link between Don’s work or expertise and bioterrorism.”
Authorities had also considered the possibility of a suicide.
“I thought it was inappropriate that there were rumors of suicide before all the facts were in. I’m glad they’ve sorted that out,” said Harvard sophomore Zachary Stone.
The recipient of several awards for his research in viruses and the immune system, Wiley served as a John L. Loeb Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Harvard University’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. He was a member of Harvard’s faculty for 30 years.
Harvard senior Natalie Carnes said she felt, though Wiley’s death was well known, Harvard students did not focus on Wiley’s death amid the stress of final exams.
“It was in our paper today, but it hasn’t really been talked about much,” she said. “My roommates and I have discussed it, but it’s been more of, ‘Why isn’t this a bigger issue?'”
Payne said many students read Wiley’s works, though he doubted that “90 percent” of Harvard students actually knew who he was.
The university has established a memorial fund in Wiley’s honor to support the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
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