Leon Thal: 'Meticulous, Unflappable, Creative'

Hundreds of persons memorialized scientist Leon Thal, a member of CIRM's Oversight Committee and an internationally acclaimed expert on Alzheimer's disease, at UC San Diego on Monday.

Reporter Cheryl Clark of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote:

"As a scientist, Thal was a meticulous, humble, creative, diplomatic and unflappable mensch who helped design and conduct clinical trials to determine whether certain substances might stop progression of the disease, the speakers said during a memorial service at UCSD."

Clark continued:

"'I really believe he was the world's leading investigator in the testing of new therapies,' said Neil Buckholtz, who leads the dementias of aging branch for the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md. "He gave hope for millions of people . . . because of his ability to forge consensus and his commitment to the principles of science.'"

Speakers also addressed other aspects of Thal's life: gardening, travel and flying cross-country in his small plane. They spoke of how he continued to drive his 1985 Toyota to work because "it still ran."

"Donna Thal fought back tears as she described some of her husband's idiosyncrasies. For example, he picked up trash while jogging and 'mended his socks even with holes as big as a half dollar,' she said."

CIRM has named the first-ever research grants awarded by the institute after Thal. UC San Diego has announced creation of a training fund for promising neuroscientists. The university said:

"Donations to this fund can be made online at http://neurosciences.ucsd.edu/neurocentral/memorial.htm, or checks may be made payable to UC San Diego Foundation, referencing Fund #4467, Thal Educational Scholarship (on memo line of check) and sent to: UCSD Neurosciences Development, c/o Leon J. Thal Educational Scholarship Fund; 9500 Gilman Drive, Mail Code 0853; La Jolla, CA 92093-0853."

Thal, 62, died last month in the crash of his plane in the Southern California desert.

Thal Dies in Small Plane Crash

Leon Thal, a member of CIRM's Oversight Committee and a brilliant San Diego neuroscientist, died during the weekend when his small plane crashed in the Southern California mountains.

Thal, a longtime and skilled pilot, was the only person aboard when the plane went down Saturday night, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune by Cheryl Clark and Sandra Dibble.

Thal, 62, was chairman of the neurosciences department at UC San Diego and had served as one of the 29-directors of CIRM since its inception two years ago. The San Diego newspaper wrote that Thal

"was one of the world's leading experts in the development of new therapies for Alzheimer's. He directed the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, a consortium of more than 70 research centers in the United States and Canada that investigates experimental therapies. He also managed UCSD's Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

"Thal oversaw more than $100 million in federal research grants and was a collaborator on many others. He and his department had received millions of dollars in research funds over the past 30 years."

In 2004, Thal shared the $100,000 Potamkin Prize, one of the highest honors in neurosciences.

The San Diego paper quoted Henry Powell, a professor of pathology and chairman of the UC San Diego Senate academic senate, as saying of Thal:

"He was a skillful manager of strong-minded people, charming and diplomatic as well as visionary and persuasive."

Thal was appointed to the CIRM board by the governor.