DRG's Marcel Pons Mourned
Dr. Marcel W. Pons, a scientific review administrator and referral officer with the Division of Research Grants, died on Feb. 21 at his home in Olney, Md. He was 65 years old.
Dr. Marcel W. Pons
He was born in New York City and was educated in the New York City Public School system. Thereafter, he ventured west to study at the University of Michigan, from which he earned both a master of science and a doctoral degree in bacteriology. He received a 2-year PHS postdoctoral fellowship at Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate John F. Enders.
Upon completing his education, Pons returned to New York City to accept a position with G.K. Hirst in the department of virology at the Public Health Research Institute of the City of New York. He later held adjunct appointments with NYU Medical School and Hunter College. He then left New York again to become director, Laboratory of Molecular Virology, at the James N. Gamble Institute of Medical Research in Cincinnati.
Since coming to NIH in 1988, Pons had been instrumental in establishing the virology and AIDS study sections, with which he continued to work until his illness. In recent years, he also administered the review of applications to the study section on chronic fatigue syndrome. He had been widely recognized by his associates, especially in the AIDS group, for being informed, thorough, and efficient. In addition, he had a wonderful talent for storytelling, too-often hidden behind a quiet no-nonsense, work-oriented demeanor. Pons was known as a voracious reader and an accomplished chef. He is survived by his wife, Joyce, and two daughters, Lisa and Missy.
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