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Message from Dean Merson Remembering Dr. Robert E. Shope

It is with sadness I write to inform you that Dr. Robert E. Shope, Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, passed away on Monday, January 19, following a long illness.

Dr. Robert E. Shope

Bob was the son of Richard Shope, who discovered Rabbit fibroma virus and who worked with Peyton Rouse in the discovery of the first papovavirus. Growing up in such an environment, Bob gravitated to medicine, attending Cornell University for a B.A. in zoology (1951) and then an M.D. (1954). Bob did his internship and residency at Yale.

Bob joined the EPH faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1965. During his time on the departmental faculty, Bob served as Director of the Yale Arbovirus Research Unit, Director of MedicalEducation, and Head of the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology.

His research was on arboviruses, rodent-borne viruses, and many other viruses. Throughout Bob's career, he helped investigate or led investigations of Rift Valley fever, Lassa fever, Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, and other diseases. He served as President of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, was recipient of the Bailey K. Ashford Award, the Richard M. Taylor Award, the Walter Reed Medal, and numerous other prestigious awards and citations.

Upon his retirement from Yale in 1995, Bob joined the faculty of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston.

A memorial service will take place at his home in Galveston on Saturday, January 24. A memorial scholarship fund is being established at UTMB in Bob's honor to support students working in the area of arboviral and emerging infectious diseases. The address for sending contributions is Robert E. Shope, M.D. Memorial Fellowship, c/o Memorials and Tributes, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0148. My office will provide further information as soon as it becomes available.

On Monday, January 26, the Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases will present a thirty minute videotape about Bob's life that was shown at the dedication of a BSL4 laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch, which was named in his honor. This showing will take place at 12:00 noon in Room 608 LEPH. All are welcome to attend.