Bernard Fields obituary

[Ian A. York]

	Dr. Bernard Fields, principal author of the book "Virology", died
yesterday.  He was just 56 years old.  Here is an excerpt from his
obituary in the Feb. 1 Boston Globe:
	
	Dr. Fields, chairman of the Department of Microbiology and 
Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School since 1982, was remembered 
by colleages as a devoted teacher who just days before his death made 
calls to other scientists to fill them in on the progress of his students 
and research.  
	Dr. Fields explored the behavious of viruses in host organisms, 
how they penetrate a cell and how they spread disease.  He broke 
scientific ground on the genetics of viruses, inspiring other researchers 
to expand their research from the test tube and microscope to explore 
broader questions of how viruses cause disease.  
	Dr. Harold Varmus, a Nobel prize laureate and director of tghe 
National Institute of Health, called Dr. Fields one of "the foremost 
virologists of the century.
	"Unlike most others, he retained a deep appreciation that viruses 
infect whole organisms, not just cells in petri dishes, and that these 
infections cause human suffering and death," Varmus said.  "Bernie has 
profoundly affected the way all viruses, including the AIDS virus, are 
studies and taught."


-- 
Ian York   (york at mbcrr.harvard.edu)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney St., Boston MA 02115
Phone (617)-632-4328     Fax  (617)-632-2627