Jo Rae Wright

Jo Rae Wright
Chapel Hill
Extraordinary scientist, devoted teacher and mentor, and former dean of the Duke University Graduate School and professor of cell biology, medicine, and pediatrics, Jo Rae Wright passed away this week. She was 56 years old and was predeceased by her parents Joseph Albert Wright and Joy Wilfong Wright of Clarksburg, West Virginia. She was a 1973 graduate of Washington Irving High School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from West Virginia University in 1977. She received her Ph.D. in physiology in 1981 from West Virginia University. She then moved to San Francisco where she completed her post-doctoral fellowship under one of the leading lung researchers in the country, Dr. John A. Clements. She worked in the area of lung surfactants with Dr. Clements at the University of California-San Francisco for twelve years before leaving for Duke University in 1993. There, she was a professor of cell biology, medicine, and pediatrics and became vice dean of basic sciences in the medical school in 2002. She became dean of the Graduate School in 2006.
She was the recipient of the American Physiological Society's Walter B. Cannon Award for her lifetime achievements in her research in 2005 and in 2008 became the president of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). She was the first president who held a Ph.D.; and yet, her presidency was notable for its emphasis on enhancing the Society's resources for clinicians and scientists. She was widely published in the area of lung surfactant research and had many editorial positions for scientific journals. However, when asked what she saw as her most important career milestone, she was quoted as saying that it was the "accomplishments of her students and fellows and helping them make their own discoveries and becoming independent thinkers."
Duke announced last month the creation of the Jo Rae Wright Fellowship for Outstanding Women in Science, which will annually recognize one doctoral student in the biomedical sciences and one in the natural sciences whose research shows particular creativity and promise. The leaders of the American Thoracic Society have also decided to honor Jo Rae's life and work by recognizing a highly promising scientist with an award in Jo Rae's name.
Jo Rae is survived by her godchild, Abby Caplan Reynolds and Abby's husband Andrew Reynolds, her beloved dog Horton, and by many friends, students, graduate fellows, and colleagues from around the world. She will be remembered by them for her tireless devotion to science and education, her sense of humor and her joy in living.
A celebration of life will be held in honor of Jo Rae in February at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to support the construction of the School of Medicine Learning Center at Duke University in memory of Jo Rae Wright.
Please make checks payable to Duke University (Put "Jo Rae Wright" in memo line), Attn: Sarah Robinson, 512 S. Mangum St., Suite 400, Durham, NC 27701.
For questions, contact Sarah Robinson at (919) 385-3100 or sarah.robinson@duke.edu