Steven Meshnick

1952 - 2020

UNC Professor Steven R. Meshnick

April 2, 1952 - August 5, 2020

Carrboro

Steven Richard (Steve) Meshnick, MD, PhD, 68, of Carrboro, N.C., passed away peacefully on Aug. 5, after a year-long struggle with cancer.

A professor of epidemiology, microbiology and immunology in the schools of public health and medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill, Dr. Meshnick was internationally renowned for his global efforts to understand, prevent and treat infectious diseases, particularly malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Born April 2, 1952, to Martha and Frank Meshnick in Queens, N.Y., Dr. Meshnick was a graduate of Columbia College, Rockefeller University and Cornell University. He served on the faculties of several universities, including Michigan, prior to joining the UNC faculty in 2001.

Much of his research was conducted in Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he worked to improve outcomes for malaria and AIDS and improve overall public health. He led a successful campaign to establish and fund Malawi's first school of public health in 2003.

Colleagues universally remember him as kind, intelligent, and generous with his time and friendship – 'a real mensch,' in the words of many. He also was viewed as an especially engaged and loving father.

He was committed to educating the next generation of physician-scientists, serving as mentor for 38 doctoral students and fellows. Former students remember him as a collaborator who took pride in their successes.

To balance his serious scientific endeavors, Dr. Meshnick composed a number of witty, satirical songs about family, public health and politics, singing and playing guitar at musical venues in the Chapel Hill area. Four albums are on Spotify, and other songs are on his website, stevemeshnick.com.

He leaves behind his wife of 29 years, Dr. Mary McKinney, and their children, Laura, Leah, Elijah and Maggie, of Carrboro, N.C.; and a sister, Ellen Meshnick Immerman, of Atlanta, Ga.

No public memorial is planned at this time.

Those wishing to honor his life and work may contribute to a fund to support public health efforts in the DRC. Online donations may be made at unchf.org/meshnickmemorial. Checks made payable to the UNC Health Foundation, with 'Memorial gift in honor of Dr. Steven R. Meshick' on the memo line, may be mailed to the UNC Health Foundation, 123 W. Franklin St., Suite 510, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.

A longer obituary is posted at sph.unc.edu/news. Memories and condolences may be left on the Steve Meshnick pages of the CaringBridge website.