Gilbert H. Smith ’63 ScM, ’65 PhD

Gilbert H. Smith ’63 ScM, ’65 PhD, of Bethesda; July 6, of pancreatic cancer. He joined the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute as a fellow in the viral biology branch in 1965 and became senior investigator in the laboratory of biology in 1970. He most recently served as senior investigator in the basic research laboratory and head of the mammary stem cell biology section. In 2005, he received the National Institutes of Health Merit award. Gil was also a two-time nominee for the E.B. Wilson Medal, the highest award from the American Society for Cell Biology, and in 2008 was a finalist for the Nobel Prize for medicine. He retired June 30, 2020, and was named an NIH Scientist Emeritus. Gil is considered a pioneer in the biology of mammary/breast cancer and stem cells involved in mammary development and cancer. He lectured across the globe and authored 180 research publications while serving on several editorial boards and as scientific advisor for the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation. While at NCI, he devoted his time serving as a mentor to hundreds of junior scientists around the world. He received the NCI Mentor Merit Award in 2003 and the NCI Outstanding Mentor Award in 2019. In addition to his brilliant scientific career, Gil was a well-respected soccer coach and youth soccer advocate in Northern Virginia, and one of several authors of the original McLean Youth Soccer bylaws. He was also a staff coach for the Virginia Olympic Development Program at the district and state levels from 1983-1990. He is survived by five children, eight grandchildren, a sister, and a brother.