Human Gene Therapy - April 2023 - 250

250
IN MEMORIAM
scientist, who also possessed a kind and accommodating
personality as a mentor. We were extremely fortunate to
have met Nick at the very beginning of our scientific
journey in AAV biology and gene therapy. Dr. Chen Ling
completed a laboratory rotation in Professor Muzyczka's
laboratory and later spent 4 years in Professor Srivastava's
laboratory to obtain his PhD degree, with Professor Muzyczka
serving as one of his esteemed doctoral committee
members. Similarly, Dr. Song was fortunate to be a joint
PhD student in Professor Srivastava's laboratory, who
spoke very highly of Nick, which is how our admiration
for him began. Our respect and admiration for Nick continued
to grow as we advanced in our scientific path.
To gene therapy, Nick's laboratory generated the first
AAV plasmid, which has since been used as a common ancestor
construct. To us, Nick and Arun were the very first
vanguardswho ignited our passion forAAVbiology.Wewill
never forget our first encounter with Nick, sitting before him
in his office, eagerly seeking his guidance to understand the
structure of AAV inverted terminal repeats (ITRs), replication
of the AAV genome, and packaging of AAV particles.
We will never forget our first research presentation to Nick,
standing before him in the department lecture hall, seeking
his critique on our studies of the D-sequence of AAV.
We will never forget our first ''Congratulations'' from
Nick, beaming in front of the camera, when we passed our
defense and received our degrees. The very last time we
met Nick in 2022, he was still attentively answering our
scientific questions and offering valuable research advice.
Nick never disappointed us as he was always there to offer
his support during our scientific journey. To us and many
others, his knowledge, expertise, and mentorship not only
established a firm basis for our research, but also profoundly
influenced our career development.
Nick's contribution to the AAV research field was unparalleled.
Nick's passing was a tremendous loss to the scientificcommunityand
toall whohadtheprivilege ofknowing
him. He will be profoundly missed and forever honored as a
true visionary and a pioneering force in the field of AAV
research. May his legacy continue to inspire us in our pursuit
of knowledge and life's work, and may he rest in peace.
Liujiang Song
University ofNorth Carolina/AskBio
and
Chen Ling
Fudan University
I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Muzyczka nearly 43
years ago in early 1980, when I interviewed for a research
associate position in Ken Berns' laboratory at the University
of Florida in Gainesville. My first impression of
Nick was that he was the coolest person I had ever met-
very low-key, down-to-earth, unassuming, and a man of
few words. After I Joined Ken's laboratory in July 1980, I
started interacting with Nick. I even audited a graduate
course in which Nick taught. Ken and Nick began to collaborate
on research on AAV, which resulted in a joint
publication,6 a book chapter,7 and a review article.8
Unfortunately for me (which I realized much later), I left
Ken's laboratory after only 2 years, but I kept in touch with
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