Dr. David Sheprow of Woods Hole, Mass., died peacefully on January 5, 2018, age 93. David was a Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Biology and Surgery at Boston University.
Following the war, David returned to Clark University where he met the love of his life, Marilyn Aronson. The couple married in 1949. After earning his Masters degree at Clark, David headed to Boston University where he earned his PhD in Biology. He remained there as a professor, became an academic dean of the Medical School, and was mentor to many students in the classroom and in his research lab until he retired to Woods Hole in 2004 at 80 years old.
For over 40 years, his laboratory’s research focused on the biology and pathology of the microvasculature. He was one of the first to develop methods to isolate and culture vascular endothelial cells, an accomplishment most people in his field believed was not possible. David was a true pioneer. The work revolutionized the study of microvasculature research and contributed to the understanding of diabetic eye disease, wound healing, and dementia.
He was the founding editor, and for 38 years, the editor-in-chief of the international journal Microvascular Research, and in 2006, edited a two-volume encyclopedic review on the biology and pathology of microvessels, published by Academic Press/Elsevier.
David loved to teach, and to the many scientists he trained over the decades of his career, he was the ultimate mentor. He taught the next generation of scientists not only the scientific method, but how to think creatively, do science generously, and live life fully.
To read more about Dr. Sheprow, see his profile in the BU Bridge, and his obituary.