The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Mourns The Loss of Dr. Maclyn McCarty - McCarty Fellowship Awarded In Memory
 
It is with great sadness and an unusual sense of loss that we mourn the death of Dr. Maclyn McCarty, who passed away on January 2, 2005.

Dr. McCarty faithfully served as a Trustee of the Foundation for over forty years and served as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee for over three decades. Over the years, he contributed greatly to the Foundation's growth in its scientific and financial endeavors and overall success. Dr. McCarty regularly attended meetings of the Board of Trustees up until very recently, and his continuing support for the Foundation and interest in the Fellows and the fellowship program will be greatly missed.

His vision of how we can best contribute to the long-range future of biology motivates our entire selection process to this day.

In the 1940's, as a member of the legendary Avery, MacLeod and McCarty team, Dr. McCarty helped pave the way for the discovery of DNA. Over the years, he went on to achieve many great scientific discoveries. We at the Foundation will always remember "Mac" as he was more affectionately known, for the special, kind, and caring person that he always was.

Through the generosity of various former fellows and members of the Board of Trustees, we are pleased to have established a special fund for the Maclyn McCarty Fellowship Award in honor and memory of Dr. McCarty. The recipient, when possible and appropriate, should be a fellow working at the Rockefeller University, and should be someone we believe will be inspired by Mac's commitment to scientific excellence.

We are pleased to announce that the 2005-2007 Maclyn McCarty Fellowship has been awarded to Dr. Richard R. Benton. Dr. Benton is working in Dr. Leslie Vosshall's lab at the Rockefeller University. He will be researching genes and circuits underlying odor coding in the Drosophila larva.