Robert DeLisle ‘79
Bob De Lisle '79 with his laboratory assistants
at the University of Kansas School of Medicine
where he studies Cystic Fibrosis.
Scholarship Will Continue Student-Centered Learning
Bob DeLisle ’79 affectionately remembers when his mentor, biology professor Herb Lipke, served brandied cherries and vanilla ice cream to him and his classmates after a difficult lab one afternoon. That gesture, he says, embodied both Lipke’s avuncularity and his passion for teaching students science.
The faculty member’s personality made a lasting impression on DeLisle, now an associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine with a research specialty in the disease cystic fibrosis. He is currently testing a mouse model that may reveal important connections between gastrointestinal and respiratory complications of the disease. DeLisle found Lipke’s devotion to both research and teaching common among his professors, but he was equally inspired by the maturity of his classmates, who included veterans and other “serious learners.”
The recipient of several academic awards throughout his career, beginning with the National Merit Scholarship that funded his UMass Boston education, DeLisle has named the university as a beneficiary of his estate to establish the Robert C. DeLisle and Eileen A. Roach Scholarship.
The scholarship will be awarded to undergraduate students majoring in biology and will continue the legacy of both DeLisle and his late wife, Eileen Roach, who was also a biomedical researcher. After Roach passed away from multiple myeloma, DeLisle reflected on how their commitment to higher education could be sustained for the long-term and decided that a scholarship at UMass Boston made sense.
“People with unusual talent should be helped along the way,” DeLisle says of the scholarship, which is both need and merit-based. He expects that the gift will launch research and teaching careers that will broaden scientific understanding and be personally rewarding.
For information on how you can establish a scholarship at UMass Boston, contact Gina Cappello, vice chancellor, at 617-287-5335.
