William H. "Bill" Habig

William H. 'Bill' Habig of East Bradford, Pa. William H. "Bill" Habig, 68, of East Bradford, Pa., passed away on August 17, 2011. Bill was born on December 7, 1942 in Newark, N.J. He graduated from Livingston High School in 1960. In 1964, he graduated from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. in 1964 with a B.S. degree in a preparation for research and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve. He attended graduate school and the University of Vermont and received a Ph. D. degree in biochemistry in 1968. For the next three years he served on active duty, primarily at Ft. Detrick, Frederick, Md., working on bubonic plague. For the following five years, he took post-doctoral fellowships at the N.Y. State Department of Health in Albany and at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md. It was at the NIH that his best-known research was conducted on drug metabolizing enzymes from the liver. One of his papers became a Citation Classic, having been cited over 1,000 times in the world of scientific literature. In 1975, Bill moved to the Bureau of Biologies of the FDA, initially as a research chemist, then Director of the Laboratory of Bacterial Toxins, and finally Deputy Director of the Division of Bacterial Products. He worked as a researcher, reviewer and inspector on vaccines of civilian and military importance. In 1995, Bill and his wife moved to West Chester to work at Centacor, Inc. in the areas of manufacturing, clinical trials and environmental health and safety. Over his career, he was the author and co-author of more than 80 scientific articles and 60 abstracts. He continued to serve as a consultant to the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health on vaccines and bio-terrorism. Bill was also an editor of Analytical Biochemistry for over 15 years. Bill is survived by his wife and childhood sweetheart, Carol Hammel Habig, to whom he was married for 46 years; three children and their families, Tara McHugh (Matthew) of Albany, Calif., Brent Habig (Ana Eccles) of Morocco and Blair Habig (Natalie) of Jersey City, N.J. and four grandchildren, Connor, Bryce, Chloe and Zane. He is also survived by one sister, Susan Habig of Laurel, Md. Relatives and friends are invited to his memorial service, 11 a.m., Saturday, August 20, at The Donohue Funeral Home, 1627 West Chester Pike, West Chester, PA 19382, 610-431-9000. Online at www.donohuefuneralhome.com.