Rolf Hans Joho's Obituary
ROLF HANS JOHO, 1949-2012 Rolf Hans Joho, much loved husband, brother, friend, and colleague, passed away January 26, 2012 at his home in Dallas, Texas. He had bravely fought a two-year struggle with a rare and debilitating cancer, leiomyosarcoma. He was born in 1949 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and resided in Texas for the last 25 years. He graduated from University of Zurich in 1972 with an M.S. in molecular biology and received his Ph.D. in molecular virology in 1977 with his award-winning thesis work on the genome of Rous sarcoma virus. After a postdoctoral fellowship for molecular immunology at Stanford University, he held tenured faculty positions at the University of Zurich, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and finally at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas, where he served as a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and was awarded the Earl A. Forsythe Distinguished Professorship in Biomedical Sciences. Rolf was an internationally recognized and published researcher who made fundamental contributions in the field of molecular neuroscience. He was instrumental in pioneering the molecular cloning and structure-function analyses of ion channels. He developed imaginative ways of studying voltage-gated potassium channel functions in the central nervous system and their role in physiology and behavior. Working with mouse genetic technology of gene knockout and cell-specific protein expression, he was able to produce novel and conclusive data on molecular mechanisms underlying the electrical activities of neurons. He served on numerous academic committees, scientific advisory and review panels, including the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation. He also contributed significantly to the teaching mission of neuroscience as a lecturer for graduate students and course director for medical neuroscience. As a colleague he was much appreciated for his generosity in sharing his reagents and constructs with other researchers to help further their own success. Beyond the sciences, he loved philosophy, motorcycles, mountain hiking, playing soccer, scuba diving, and flying single and twin engine airplanes. He also had a great feel for modern as well as ancient languages and over the years studied Latin, Sanskrit, and Japanese. Together with his wife, he always kept an open house & garden for friends and colleagues and anybody who would engage in a hearty political discussion. Rolf is survived by his wife and companion of 29 years, Angelica M.D. Tratter of Zurich and Dallas, his brother Kurt Joho with mate Ursel Froidevaux, his nephew Thomas Joho with wife Sandra, his niece Gabi Joho Buehrer with husband Ernst, and niece Andrea Schaufelberger-Joho with husband Stefan, his mother-in-law Poldi Tratter with life mate John Zaech, and his two beloved cats Mici and Ahni. He has chosen organ donation at University of Texas Southwest Medical Center with subsequent cremation and scattering of his ashes in the Engadin mountains in Switzerland, where he used to enjoy extended hikes with his wife and friends. Visitors will be welcomed Tuesday, January 31, 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Restland Funeral Home in Dallas. In lieu of flowers, we would appreciate memorial donations to be sent to the Education and Training Program of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, www.fnih.org, or the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, www.damonrunyon.org. These foundations support early career scientists and scientific education, two of Rolf’s passions. To view and sign the guest book, visit www.restlandfuneralhome.com.
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