Rememberances

Greg loved scientific inquiry and blossomed as an undergraduate and graduate student at Johns Hopkins. We of course know him from his entire life, which was filled with fascination and delight about all of what makes up our world - this includes music (from Rachmaninoff to Green Day), art (his favorite artist was Frank Stella and he loved the Detroit Institute of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Visionary Museum). He loved the tactile nature of books and manuscripts and read widely - but always books. At the same time, he learned in many ways - his favorite podcast was "This American Life". He loved his fiancée, Ann Mendoza, and her wonderful family, mother Dulce, father Ramon, brother Ardi and sister Ara. And we knew he loved us. He called his mom or dad almost every day - usually when walking to or from the lab (although he mercifully stopped calling us on the way in when he started going in at 5AM during the pandemic). We all talked with him for hours. He'd talk about his life and art, cooking, TV shows, movies, music, plans for his and Ann's wedding, his experiments, joys and frustrations of grad school, and he'd ask about us and support us in every way. He and his sister Sarah would talk about everything in their lives - relationships, work, fun, their parents. They were incredibly close. We want to thank all of his friends, lab-mates, colleagues and mentors at Hopkins and elsewhere for their camaraderie, friendship support and encouragement. He was ours but also belonged to everyone who cared about him. He will be loved and he will be missed. But we feel so lucky to have known him for each of his 29 years.

—Carol Stepanchuk, Roberta Fuller & Sarah Fuller

You were one of the first friends I met at JHU and we shared so many good memories over the years. From eating late-night at the FFC as freshman, to our adventures in the Thunderdome, to the winter storm during our time at "Casa Bonita" where we wandered around in the snow, and to all of our antics in-between. Your funny laugh (Jimmy Jinklemeyer!), your love for the Simpsons and ska, your love for science and all things learning, your genuine and kind nature. I am going to miss you so much, Greg.

—Darian Hadjiabadi

While at Johns Hopkins, I was in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity with Greg. He was such a great person and someone I am glad to call my brother. I always enjoyed hearing about all the stuff he was doing in lab. I send my condolences to the his family and loved ones.

—Noah Dennis

Greg was like family to me. Since 1999, our families (the Prices and the Fullers) have spent Thanksgiving together every year. This tradition evolved through the years, from our younger years playing video games, staging vast landscapes with playmobil toys, and creating a spoof "Behind the Music" documentary about our fictional band GASS (Greg Alexander Sarah Sarah), through adulthood, where our time was spent learning how Greg's research was progressing, celebrating important graduate school milestones, and meeting his loving fiancee, Ann. It has been a joy to know Greg through the years; he was truly a wonderful combination of bright and passionate, but also so warm and unpretentious, conversant in a wide variety of topics including cooking, biology, mathematics, art, history, and music. I will miss so many things about Greg as I reflect on some of my favorite memories of him. I so much appreciated hearing his thoughtful observations as we went around the table to give thanks, sharing quiet moments slicing apples or folding paper cranes together, and talking to him about life as we went on pre-dinner walks. Thanksgiving became a big reunion as we all moved to different cities in adulthood, and it was always so sweet to see how excited and curious he was to catch up with his sister Sarah during these times. When you were with him, you felt heard and cared for. Greg was a loving brother and friend and he is so loved and missed by us.

—Sarah Price

Greg was my graduate student mentor for just over 2 years while I worked on the G body project in the Kim lab. Greg poured everything he had into his research project, and was an incredible scientist. He knew his own project like the back of his hand, but additionally knew every experiment that I had done better than I did, and was always ready to brainstorm exciting new directions to take the projects. I think he must have had every piece of yeast biology memorized, he immediately saw connections between results and concepts that would have taken me weeks of literature scouring to find, and it truly propelled both of our projects in fantastic directions. I was once imaging cells and was confused with some Microscope setting and called Greg in to try and fix it, he immediately noticed that my cells looked like flowers, which I had barely noticed, and within minutes had produced some obscure paper from the 80's that referenced that phenotype, and we were trying to figure out how this one weird mutation was causing it. As a mentor, Greg was very good at giving me the freedom to take ownership of my project, but also used his knowledge, enthusiasm, and experience to help guide it in exciting directions. Greg would have made a fantastic PI.

—Alex Rittenhouse

I met Greg in the fall of 2017 at the Kim Lab, and I am so proud to call him my mentor. This was my very first research experience, and as such I was naturally very nervous. But luckily, I was assigned to one of the MOST detail-oriented people I know, so every step that came naturally to Greg was clearly communicated and spoken to me. As I streaked his plates, and struggled to read some of the neatest handwriting I have ever seen, I began my scientific journey. Over the course of the next four years, I got to know Greg more. I learned about his love for yeast and coffee, and his walks around the UTL to calm him down when experiments and data are difficult make out. However, there is one thing that I will never understand, and that is how the same person with the most organized and clean bench in lab was also the owner of the desk cluttered with papers, post-its, and coffee cups just a few feet away. Though my time with Greg has been limited, he was nothing short of a caring, passionate, knowledgeable, and amazing mentor and he will be missed immensely.

As an undergraduate 3 years ago who was always nervous about her position/abilities in lab, I deeply appreciated Greg's calming presence. Greg was the pinnacle of "in his lane and flourishing." He was one of the most consistently hardworking and kind graduate students I have run into over the years, and I always knew that I could turn to him if I had a pressing question or minor crisis in lab. My deepest condolences to his friends and family.

Greg was not your typical guy…he was a truly phenomenal person. He was quiet and kept to himself but when he had something to say it was always an insightful and well thought out comment. If he had something to say, you wanted to listen. Having worked with him in John Kim’s lab for six years, I can say he was truly a brilliant scientist, a meticulous worker, and dedicated to his work and his project. He had the rare ability to draw from various scientific fields and think about his project from all these different angles. Despite the fact that we worked in lab conducting scientific research each day, some of my favorite memories with him involve conversations that weren’t about science at all. I remember one particular Friday evening after a long week of work, we were wrapping up and somehow Greg and I got into a discussion about philosophy. We sat in lab after with no more science left to do that night and just delved into differing perspectives on morality. Greg was thrilled to be discussing Hume, Kant, Hobbes, and other philosophers. His ability to cite philosophers’ work just as easily as he could cite the work of biologists studying phase separation was truly impressive. It is a tragedy to have lost such an immensely brilliant person all too soon. But more than brilliant, he was deeply kind, generous, and devoted to the people he cared about. This loss is tragic and I will truly miss him.

Greg was a person that you could always count on. During Covid, our lab moved to morning and afternoon shifts and Greg was consistently there working from 6am to 2pm. I’d usually work the afternoons, but occasionally would get to lab in the early mornings to start an experiment. During these mornings I would talk with Greg a bit, mainly about running. When we talked about a month ago, he mentioned that he had run a half-marathon. I asked him several questions and eventually was able to get from him his time which was sub-1:30: a blistering pace for the half. When I mentioned how impressive that was, especially for someone who had just recently started running, he graciously said thanks, but you could tell he was not satisfied. He told me about his goal of running a full marathon, but not doing it in the context of a race but rather in a much more challenging setting: on his own. I didn’t think he ended up doing it, but when I met his family after his passing, I found out that he did recently complete a solo marathon. As a runner, I understand how mentally and physically demanding this is to accomplish and Greg accomplished this feat in a way he always seemed to: humbly. To me, this highlighted how driven, accomplished, and modest Greg was.

Additionally, Greg was consistently kind and selfless in the lab. When I was studying for my graduate board examination, he met with me multiples times for hours to help me with topics such as microscopy and biophysics which he was so knowledgeable about. These sessions were incredibly didactic and undoubtedly contributed to me passing the exam. When I would ask him if the lab store had specific equipment that I needed for my experiments he wouldn’t just let me know they did, he always offered to pick them up for me. When we had a fire in our lab, he was the first person who came to lab after it. The first thing he did when he got to lab was made sure everyone was ok. That was his only concern. He then followed that by staying late into the night to help clean up the extensive fire extinguisher dust on all the lab equipment.

Greg’s perpetual scientific and athletic drive, kindness, and helpfulness that he showed to everyone will always stick with me and be something I aspire to exemplify.

I will always remember Greg as a wonderful colleague with an infectious enthusiasm for science. Even early on in his PhD, he was fearless when it came to taking on risky projects, which I think was inspiring to other lab members. I am so sorry to hear about Greg’s passing - he was such an asset to our lab family and the broader scientific community.

Greg was a cornerstone of the Kim lab during my tenure both culturally and scientifically and it's hard to believe he's gone.

Greg was a brilliant scientist and an incredibly hard worker. I worked with him closely at the beginning of my PhD when I was also on the G-body project and I remember always being impressed with his depth of knowledge on the topic and how excited he was to do the next experiment and get the next result.

He was curious and thoughtful and a great benchmate and conversation partner. He was a kind, patient, empathetic person and the world was better with him in it. I will miss him, as will so many others.

Greg and I came up together in grad school. Since we were in the same year and joined the same lab, we crossed many of the big graduate school milestones together. We took classes together – I remember him sitting in a corner, taking notes occasionally but not scribbling furiously like the rest of us, not speaking too much but answering confidently when he was called on or when he felt like talking. Of course, he was always right.

We had joint practice sessions together for our graduate board oral exams, and when it was my turn to be grilled, Greg carefully took notes. He was a welcome presence in the room when I was asked “what would your lab’s research direction be?” and all I could do was sputter. Although the volumes Greg knew could fill UTL and Mudd several times over, he always complimented me after a practice session like I had done something he couldn’t have done. That was the thing about Greg, it’s extraordinary how someone so quiet could make you feel so seen. Although I know I barely scratched the surface in getting to know Greg, I am nevertheless grateful for these experiences that gave me a small window into his warm and wise soul.

To all of us in the Kim Lab, Greg was ol’ reliable. He came in like clockwork and worked quietly and efficiently. But he was by no means invisible. He did everything with his own eccentric flair, whether it was giving his experiments and discoveries scientifically-apt, but fun names like “Trojan Horse” or “Baby Bjorn,” sending a lab-wide email that the plural of pegasus is “pegasi” (and being so self-deprecating and funny, he even titled his argumentative powerpoint “obnoxious.pptx”), and checking a protocol with me by saying, "I incubate for 10 minutes at your initials” (my initials are "RT," a common lab abbreviation for "room temperature"). A joke he told me about ants never getting sick because of their antibodies is a joke I continue to tell and laugh out loud at, even long after my friends and family tell me it isn’t that funny. I think it’s so funny to me because Greg, with his wonderful sense of humor and priceless delivery, told it to me. One of my favorite things was whenever Greg would stop his work and come over to talk, smiling his wide, infectious smile and excitedly holding his hands, palms facing each other, fingers wide, in a sort of bouncing movement as he got excited about a seminar or Psych the tv show or an experimental result he’d just got. No matter how low you felt, no matter what disappointing result you’d just received or bad lab meeting you’d just given, when Greg came over and smiled at you, you immediately felt better.

Greg was the kind of lab mate you should be so lucky to have in your life. Greg who knew my science as well as – probably better than – me. Greg who guided Charlotte and me through the publication process for the first time, sharing his knowledge and commiserating with us at every step. Greg the person to catch when one of my five billion egg prep tubes fell off the nutator, an almost every other day occurrence. Greg my chemical room deep clean-up buddy. He was so generous with his time and knowledge, kind, polite and gentle, humble, friendly, and hardworking. I remember him comforting me when I burst into tears in the middle of the lab over a work email. I remember him popping his head into my bay every day to say goodbye. I remember us always working together on Friday nights, refusing to go to Happy Hour, me as an introvert and him as a person who just knew he’d rather finish his work and go home to play board games and spend time with Ann. I will carry the example of Greg’s determination – to do his experiments, to live his life, to accomplish his goals the way he wanted – with me for the rest of my life, and hope to have at least an ounce of the style and conviction he had.

Not only was Greg a wonderful person, but he was a graduate student and scientist we all admired and wished we could emulate. His unwavering and deep humility marked everything he did. He didn’t speak much in lab meetings, but every suggestion he gave was thoughtful, sharp, and usually ended up panning out for the experimenter. His independence of thought, the fierce but gentle determination to do his experiments the way he thought they should be done, the comprehensive way he understood his literature, and the way he could teach himself anything (from analyzing his own RNA-seq data to designing new ways to quantifying co-localization to pioneering kinetics assays in our lab) left us all in awe every day. What I admired most of all was Greg did science because he loved science – and you felt that love.

I am heartbroken that the character and wit that was Greg is no longer walking this world. Not only are we deprived of all the scientific contributions he would have made, we have lost everything Greg contributed by being a wonderful lab mate, friend, and person. My deepest sympathies go to his family and friends. It has been a profound honor and privilege to know you, Greg. We miss you.

I met Greg during my lab rotation in John Kim’s lab prior to the start of my first year at Johns Hopkins and got to know him as our morning lab shifts, implemented upon COVID-19, overlapped. With our lab benches positioned diagonally, I would usually catch a glimpse of Greg’s head amidst the reagents on shelves above his lab bench. I found comfort in and drew inspiration from his steadfast presence on such early and quiet mornings. He would always meticulously clean his lab bench – so much so that the surface coating has long worn off – and would conduct innovative and such well-thought-out experiments with diligence.

It was during one of these morning shifts that Greg casually mentioned he ran his first half marathon. He had recently taken up running, and as an avid runner myself, we would talk a lot about running: favorite routes, nutrition, training, and races. Recalling my first half marathon experience, I asked Greg how he had felt after running such a long distance. Not surprisingly, Greg’s eyes lit up as a huge grin grew across his face and he fervently exclaimed, “It was amazing!”. Shortly afterwards, he completed the half marathon at the Baltimore Running Festival at a spectacularly swift pace and started training for the full marathon distance.

In addition to Greg’s keen scientific insight and infectious enthusiasm for everything he pursued, he was also warm-hearted and generous. When I was applying for the NRSA fellowship, Greg not only gave me valuable advice and shared the reviewer comments on his application, but also provided me with major application components. As the only person doing computational work in John’s lab, I felt especially heard by Greg, the only person doing yeast work in John’s lab. I think Greg understood how lonely it could get at times, and he always made sure to follow up with me after my lab meeting presentations and Progress Reports.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have met Greg and have had the opportunity to observe his extraordinarily promising career. My thoughts are with his family and fiancé, and his friends within and outside of the CMDB community.

Greg Fuller was a brilliant and brave scientist. Greg's work on the characterization of G bodies has provided the very first mechanistic insight into the functional relevance of phase separated condensates in cells experiencing stressful environmental conditions. Greg was unafraid of tackling challenging problems. He was innovative and resourceful. He had the unique ability of being extremely detail-oriented, while never forgetting how his research added to the existing big scientific picture. The breadth and depth of Greg's scientific knowledge was immense, but so was his inquisitiveness and sense of wonder.

Greg was an ideal scientific colleague. He would often share relevant and interesting (and sometimes whacky) papers with the lab. He would conversationally ask me about my ongoing experiments and would be genuinely ready to commiserate or celebrate, as the situation warranted. Although Greg was often a lone yeast person in our worm world, his invaluable suggestions and advice would help me out of tight science corners. His excitement for doing science was very infectious. I was part of several sub group meetings where Greg would propose a preliminary experiment to test a hypothesis, which would then lead to an enthusiastic brainstorming session among all of us. Then Greg's eyes would light up as the discussion, that he induced, would nudge him to propose the perfect experiment, which he would subsequently execute perfectly too. Greg took great pride in the achievements of his trainees. He trained them to be independent scientists, just as he was. Greg's presentation during every lab meeting was reflective of his scientific acumen and sincere diligence, and almost always contained a nugget of his quirky sense of humor. There was one memorable lab meeting where Greg included a Christmas themed video of his yeast cells, that expressed green and red fluorescent proteins, mating to the tunes of the Nutcracker Ballet.

I will always remember Greg as a determined and passionate human being. He found joy in the most mundane accomplishments (for instance, acquiring rewashable glass pipettes or finding the perfect accessories for Buddy, his yeast plushie). Greg pursued every objective in his life with inexhaustible doggedness. He was kind, warm hearted, and thoughtful. Although we never hung out much outside of work, he surprised me with a bar of my favorite chocolate as a thank you gift for editing his paper.

I am very grateful I got to coexist in the same space as Greg for all this time. It's hard to believe that I will never be able to share a nerdy joke with Greg or take his advice ever again. Greg has left an indelible mark on my life and I will dearly miss him.

Greg was both a friend and an amazing scientist to work with.

Years of working beside Greg has shaped the scientist I’ll be for the rest of my life, but even that time was not enough to get to know him as fully as I wish I could. When his personality shone, it was clear he was earnest, enthusiastic, and kind. I loved late evenings in lab chatting with him about life and the future, and getting to see Ann when she dropped by to keep us all company. His love for the people in his life was so, so clear.

In science, not only can I strive to live up to his example in bench work, but his willingness to help others design experiments, develop analysis methods, and troubleshoot data will never be forgotten. We will miss him so much, and hope that he knows the impact he left on us all.

I first met Greg when John’s lab was at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. A Michigan native, Greg spent a good part of his winter break during his senior year as a JHU undergrad learning to do a time-consuming and technically challenging experiment called HITS-CLIP in our lab. Even then his dedication to science was as obvious as his eclectic and unique perspective on life.

Shortly after that winter John moved his lab to JHU and Greg joined us. Since the summer of 2019, I’ve worked across from Greg (literally - we share opposing benches) and had the opportunity to watch him grow into an amazing scientist. He championed his own research and always had the time to discuss science be it yours or his. He relished the fact that he was a yeast biologist in a lab of people that worked with worms. What I miss most with Greg’s passing are the little things that made up a day in the lab with Greg. When we were doing tasks that didn’t require a lot of concentration we’d have terrifically quirky chats on topics like the possible chemical composition of Ice-Nine, left-handedness (Greg was a real advocate), “real” winter, and the hair in the Simpsons. He’d share useful tips like, “when you go to the med school you should go to Popeye’s on the way back,” and, “be sure to go to the Beer Garden during Spring Fair.” Honestly, though, Greg was an amazing source of information about Baltimore and JHU. He was enormously helpful when the lab first moved here. He even took the time to a look at an apartment for me since I was still in Michigan. I still live there and Greg was right - the walk to and from lab is just long enough to let your mind unwind.

And then…

• We have a lab journal club each week. Greg used to print out the papers in tiny booklet form. Why? I never asked because sometimes you just, “let dancing bears dance”.

• A few years ago after a really hard week of troubleshooting an experiment Greg gave me a piece of paper with a funny cartoon cat on it that said “one day things will get better…until then here is a drawing of a cat.” That cat still makes me smile when I’m going through challenging times

• Every time I used the compound microscope, I’d lower the chair and swap the mouse to the other side of the keyboard. Greg would do the reverse. As the primary users of that scope, that game went on for years.

• My family now has a tradition of watching Spaceballs on New Year’s Eve. Thank you, Greg. “May the Schwartz be with you!”

I think if we collect enough of the little memories that we have of a person they become like a puzzle. We can piece them together to form a picture of that person’s life as we experienced it. What I see is that Greg was a thoughtful and generous person, a promising and talented scientist, and someone with a subtle and offbeat sense of humor that brightened my life. He made an indelible mark on the John Kim lab during his short time with us. I feel so lucky that I had the opportunity to know him.

After a year as a research technician, Greg started his graduate work in our lab. Working with Greg in the lab, I got to see Greg’s bold and unrelenting determination he had toward his own scientific research. During the first year of his PhD, Greg successfully purified G-bodies, a membrane-less organelle that forms during hypoxia to promote glycolysis. This purification became the foundation for his thesis work. Despite what, from the outside, seemed like very early (and easy) success as a graduate student, I saw the painstaking months of work that he put in before he was able to purify G bodies. Most people didn’t see the hours and hours of toil Greg spent troubleshooting multiple protein purification techniques. Not only was Greg extremely hardworking and single-minded in his goals, but he was creative and unconventional in his approaches. He never shied away from complicated or technically challenging experiments. I always looked forward to his lab meetings, in which he would always surprise the lab with new and exciting data. I remember when he developed what he called the “trojan horse” experiment where he fused an RNAse directly to a G body protein to directly test whether RNAs were important for the formation of G-bodies. Even now, whenever I run into a challenge in my own science, I think of Greg’s fearless approach to help motivate me to think outside of the box to find a solution.

Lastly, Greg was a kind and thoughtful lab colleague. Despite it not being his lab duty, Greg would do all of the dry autoclaving for our lab. Without fail, each week Greg would stop by each person in the lab and ask if they had anything that needed to be autoclaved. I know this is a trivial memory, but I feel it highlights Greg’s selfless and caring nature. I deeply miss Greg and I know his memory as a friend as well as his scientific legacy will live on and continue to burn brightly.

Dear Greg,

Working with you on the science that we both loved, and obsessed over, has been the highlight of my career. You affirmed for me, every day, why we choose to be basic scientists. Thank you for the joy that you brought to our collaboration. Thank you for your dedication and sharing your insatiable curiosity and sense of wonderment. You are brilliant, a generational talent, and you made everyone around you better scientists and better people. You believed in me and trusted me as your graduate mentor, even when I was not at my best, and that meant the world to me. You leave behind an unfillable space, an anguish that I still cannot comprehend. But I will try by remembering and celebrating our seven years of working together. And that will have to be enough. I will miss our long conversations over the work, our shared love of discovery, and your kindness and self-effacing humor, and most of all, your camaraderie and friendship.

With deepest gratitude,

I was a biorep with Greg for a few years. It was clear to me that in addition to how awesome he was in lab that he was an all around great person who cared for all the grad students in our program. I'm going to miss randomly running into Greg in the halls, he always seemed so happy to be here and brightened our days!

—Caitlin Pozmanter, Ph.D., former CMDB Graduate Student

Being in a different lab, and different year in grad school I didn't know Greg super well. But there were times when I would need to visit the Kim lab for help and he was always willing. He had a really positive attitude, a sweet smile, and a kind disposition. He and his family are in my thoughts.

—Caity Anderson, Ph.D., former CMDB Graduate Student

I was introduced to Greg's brilliance when I rotated in the Kim lab last year and I saw first hand how meticulous he was with his project. I could tell he was thinking about his work more than anyone else and was completely engaged. It was motivational; he became someone I could look up to at a distance and model my work ethic after. In lab meetings during my rotation, he was always inquisitive and kind including with me, knowing that I knew so little. I really appreciated that. He will be truly missed.

—Gemechu Mekonnen, CMDB Graduate Student

Hello, I am a classmate of Greg. I am sad that he is no longer with us. He was smart, humble, and helpful to everyone. Our department will miss him greatly.

—Jee Min Kim, Ph.D., former CMDB Graduate Student

Greg was a good friend and great scientific mind. He single handedly introduced me to yeast science when I embarked on a y2h journey a few years ago. No matter how busy he was, he always had time to answer my silly questions or explain some cryptic protocol points for me. He may not remember this, but we made a bet at the end of first year when we joined our neighboring labs together, that the last to graduate owed the other a six pack. Well, as far as i'm concerned, given his prolific achievements Greg deserved that six pack a few years ago. Greg was a role model and a quiet leader for us both academically and in his life outside of school. He had a kind and generous spirit, and his gentle patience, deep care and good humor will be missed across the floor.

—Jocelyn Haversat, CMDB Graduate Student

During my rotation with the Taylor lab, I reached out the Greg to ask him about G-bodies, as they were really fascinating to me. He was super enthusiastic and allowed me to take some of his time one evening to explain his work and how I could potentially look at G-bodies in mammalian cells. Although it did not come to fruition, Greg became a role model for how to interact with other students; with respect, compassion, and enthusiasm. You will be missed.

—Justin Mirazee, CMDB Graduate Student

Rest in peace, Greg. Just a few days ago, we were talking about latest findings and future research plans. You had ideas, hopes and dreams, waiting for you to realize. I still remember your fantastic role as Steve Harvey in our 4th year retreat skit. I also vividly recall you were always the first to finish exams. With a shared goal, I imagined we would stay in touch for the decades to come. So long, my friend. I will miss you. Xiuqi, July 12, 2022

—Xiuqi Chen, CMDB Graduate Student

While Greg and I were not very close, he was always a positive light on the third floor of UTL. No matter what he was working on, if I had a question, he was excited to chat and give an answer. It was clear that Greg was heavily invested in his work and was on-track to do even greater things.

—Matthew Hurlock, CMDB Graduate Student

Greg was genuinely one of the kindest and gentlest humans I have ever met. Amid the numerous times he would stop in the hall to talk and catch up, I remember most fondly two particularly illustrative examples of his character.

During the interview weekend before I was even a student here, Greg displayed an empathy that left an impression. The interview process, with the frantic shuttling between faculty offices for interviews, student and program presentations in various locations, and the insane load of new people with whom I had to interact, was difficult and emotionally exhausting. In the midst of it all, I had found an opportunity to sit quietly and collect myself. I looked up to see Greg hovering nearby, and he asked if I was doing okay. He said that he understood if I just needed a moment to myself but he also wanted to make sure that I was not being ignored and left out. When I replied that I was trying to get a quiet minute without engagement, he completely understood and gave me that space. That level of care and understanding reflected very well on the character of students in this program and influenced my ultimate decision to come here.

Another time, I was walking down the hall of UTL clearly distraught over the continued failure of an experiment I had struggled with for many months. Greg stopped me to ask how things were. Upon hearing of my troubles, he immediately invited me up to his bench to talk it through. With his singular patience and attentiveness, he guided me through the process so that I could overcome the hurdles and push forward.

I will miss Greg terribly. He was genuinely one of the good ones. I think this program generally is, and I personally am, better for having experienced him and deprived for having lost him.

—Matthew Pavesic, CMDB Graduate Student

I remember watching Greg's progress report in my first year and being impressed by the amount of work that he'd already accomplished on his project, how clear and straightforward his slides were, and how calmly he presented all of it. Later that year, when I was scrambling to organize recruitment and needed more students to take recruits to dinner, he stepped up and volunteered to help us. Greg was a great researcher, and I will miss his quiet support of his peers.

I actually knew Greg before coming to CMDB for grad school – we were undergrads together here at Hopkins. Ann Mendoza (at the time, Greg's girlfriend) and I are sorority sisters, and I remember Greg coming out to support us during our Powderpuff Games, and him and Ann tearing up the dance floor at many of our sorority social functions. We had a fundraiser at Spring Fair every year called "Pie a Pi Phi," where us sisters got pied in the face for $1. Greg came out every year and made sure to support us (and in the process, cover Ann's face in whipped cream!). He was a such a warm, genuine, and caring individual, and he will be greatly missed.

I still remember the date I met Greg in the elevator when he was undergraduate. Then he became a technician, then an outstanding PhD student. What never change is Greg's smile, for me, always in the elevator. It hurts me after seeing this wonderful scientist growing up so quickly, then life is not as fair as I hope so, even as a medical doctor I should understand more than anyone else. Our life will move on but is different without you, Greg. Thank you very much for your contribution in G-body and RNA biology. As beauty of the science has always been, part of your life will stay shining after years passing by.

For Professor Fuller and family, you have a incredible son we all remember. Please accept my condolences for your family's loss.

—Ting-Yu Yeh, M.D., former Assistant Research Scientist

Greg and I started at Hopkins around the same time. We chatted quite often about similar grad-school experiences where our projects were different from the rest of the labs. Greg always radiated infectious chill and positivity, and with such attitude managed to take his research to exciting places. He and I were scheduled for progress report on the same day, and I still remember sitting in the audience being blown away by his talk. We last spoke a few weeks ago about his future plans in academia, and it is still difficult to process what just transpired. I offer the Fuller family my deepest condolences--Greg was a truly wonderful person and his memory will live on.

—Vu Nguyen, Ph.D., CMDB Postdoctoral Fellow

Greg was an exceptional researcher with an incredible depth of knowledge that sprung from a true love of science. Of all the pre-qualifying exams I have participated in, Greg's was unquestionably the most challenging for me, personally. Normally the exam is an exercise in testing the boundaries of a student's knowledge, but for Greg's, it was an exercise in testing my own. I struggled to find even the smallest gap in his knowledge as we dove deeper and deeper into questions of metabolism, and reached the limits of my own understanding. For many students, the pre-qualifying exam is an arduous prerequisite that must be suffered through to move on to their graduate work, but for Greg, it was a fulfilling opportunity to discuss science. I remember clearly how when I asked him about the Kreb's cycle, Greg smiled broadly and discussed it with a passionate fervor I doubt Kreb himself would have given to the topic.

It was obvious that thinking and talking about science was his life's passion, and I am truly devastated that this luminous fire has been extinguished so soon. Greg pushed the boundaries of science, and saw into the darkness further than most. He will be missed.

Greg and I first met almost seven years ago, before he joined our CMDB graduate program. He contacted me about using piece of equipment in my lab, and we started a conversation while he was running his samples. I still remember this interaction after a number of years because I was immediately struck by Greg’s intellect, maturity, depth and warmth. Over the following years, it became very obvious that Greg was not only an unassuming, interesting and pleasant person to chat with, but that he was a highly gifted scientist. His work in John Kim’s lab on G bodies has been absolutely spectacular. Greg’s presentations (during progress reports and local meetings) were something that I was always looking forward to. He had a talent for setting off a scientific firework without any bombast or overselling, letting his beautiful data and his sharp conclusions speak for themselves. Greg clearly had a bright career in front of him. It is heartbreaking to see this path cut short so tragically. My thoughts are, first and foremost, with his family and his fiancé, with his friends inside and outside our department, with his lab mates and with his mentor John Kim.

Greg, that smile ... and always with a twinkle in your eye. I am smiling ear to ear as I think of it. A student full of energy and ready to learn all one could possibly learn. You are one of the best! Can't wait to celebrate your life with those who miss you. I'll always remember and miss that smile. I expect you are twinkling somewhere.

I remember noting with colleagues that every time we would run into him in the hall, office, or even off campus, he had a warm welcoming smile and he greeted you like he meant it.

I first met Greg in the spring of 2011 when, as a high school senior, he first visited my Integrated Imaging Center (IIC) at Johns Hopkins. He would go on to work in the IIC for for the next 4 years, throughout his undergraduate career. He was the IIC’s quality control technician who weekly examined, tested, and confirmed that all of our fluorescence microscopy instruments were performing properly. He subsequently became a research technician and later a graduate student in the laboratory of John Kim….One of my most cherished memories at Hopkins was learning that Greg had been accepted into the CMDB graduate program; and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to follow his burgeoning career…Alas, a career cut so tragically short!

In my all too brief a time working with and knowing Greg, like so many I am sure, I was most struck by his unique gift/combination of intelligence melded with his uncommon humility….To be sure, Greg was as smart as they came; and yet his intelligence was often masked in a quiet self-assurance/self-confidence, and, yes, understated humility… He was very smart and, yet unafraid of being wrong; he embraced responsibility but never hesitated to ask for help; and, most uncommonly endearing, he was a good listener and ‘oh so’ kind!…He always had keen insights to share, but was never in a rush to share them…Simply, Greg was a genuinely good person and had all of the qualities to become a great scientist; and yet, I believe his greatest contributions to the world/humanity would have been in training, educating, and leading others…The future will not be nearly so bright in Greg’s absence; but, gosh, did he leave a bright legacy!

—Michael McCaffery, Greg’s undergraduate mentor and former director of the Integrated Imaging Center

Greg was an amazing scientist and colleague. Soft-spoken, Greg made every word count, with deep, incisive descriptions of his science and suggestions for others. His awkward, yet truly genuine, half-smile, half-nod, half-wave always lightened my day. His tremendous mind coupled with his immense humility made him one of my favorite people in the department. He was a true scientist and a thoughtful colleague. We will all miss Greg very much.

I first learned of Greg in an early conversation with John Kim about Hopkins students on my arrival in Baltimore 6 years ago. John spoke glowingly about the graduate program in general and about Greg in particular, as someone special and self-driven who was the sole individual in the lab working on what seemed to be a wild yeast cell biology project on liquid-liquid phase transitions in cytoplasmic granules or G-bodies. I met Greg by his poster at a subsequent CMDB retreat where he gave an impressive, systematic presentation of his on-going research. It was thoughtful, timely, and exciting, and convinced the skeptic in me that Greg’s work on LLPS was serious and solid, unlike so much going on in my field of eukaryotic transcription. It is a delight now to see his work in publications, affirming his unique contributions to the literature and his unusual maturity as an outstanding scholar. I had a soft spot for Greg as the ‘yeast’ student in John’s lab and recall the numerous times he would take his cultures along our lab corridor on his way to the autoclave. At the cusp of a brilliant career, it is heartbreaking to know that he is gone. Greg’s findings will spur on others to advance the questions he has defined for glycolysis enzymes in the cytoplasmic granules.

With sincere condolences to his parents, family, colleagues, and friends,

I have known Greg from the beginning of his Ph.D period. Greg rotated in my lab and worked on a phase separating RNA binding protein, FUS. What I saw in Greg was an extremely careful scientist who performs many more control experiments than expected, a critical thinker who doesn't come to quick conclusions, a humble student who intently listens and takes in others' messages. Although it was only for eight weeks, Greg was a remarkable scholar that my group members admired and a gentle and kind friend who we adored. The second phase of my encounter with Greg was through his annual thesis meetings for the past four years or so. I was truly privileged to be one of his thesis committee members from the beginning. I got to watch Greg make new discoveries, overcome insurmountable barriers in conducting experiment, achieve far beyond expectations both in published and the unpublished work and grow up to be a stellar scientist. Greg's thesis meetings were always the special annual event that I looked forward to attending because I got to see Greg's beautiful mastery of science being formed, shaped and perfected into an incredible piece of mater piece. Despite his amazing accomplishment, Greg always demonstrated his humility as a scientist, always, always taking in advice, taking detailed notes throughout the thesis meetings while carefully evaluating his work. I miss Greg and his outstanding thesis meetings, the impeccable scientist who would have made many more exciting discoveries and most of all, the calm and gentle smiles he always carried around. Greg and his many accomplishments will be remembered and cherished forever.

Greg has been a wonderful TA for the Epigenetics course John and I co-teach. It has been such a pleasure to work with him and get to know him. Greg is super smart, very reliable, and always a joy to work with. It is such an honor to have known and worked with Greg! We will miss him, very, very much---

I met Greg three years ago when I arrived at Hopkins, and I quickly connected with him through his work. Like me, Greg worked on RNA granules and tried to understand how they form and work within cells. Greg observed that in response to hypoxia, the budding yeast form G bodies, which are small RNA granules composed of the glycolysis enzymes and RNA. This observation was exciting not only because it indicated that the metabolic enzymes could become organized within cells, reminiscent of metabolic factories, but more importantly because Greg demonstrated that by co-organizing, these enzymes increase the efficiency of metabolic reactions! To date, this was among the best (and only), examples which demonstrated that phase separation can enhance biochemical reactions in cells.

I will remember Greg by another experiment, the Trojan Horse assay. Numerous studies demonstrated that RNA granules require RNA for their formation. However, these were “fast” experiments, mainly performed on biochemically purified proteins and in vitro transcribed RNAs. So, a fundamental question remained in the field: are RNAs really that important for the formation of RNA granules if one looked inside the cells and take a complex cellular environment into consideration? This is exactly what Greg did. He used an elegant genetic trick and engineered yeast cells to enrich an RNase fusion protein in G bodies. Once there and on cue, this RNase then degraded RNA stored in G bodies. This experiment is simple yet clever and one of my favorites in the field of RNA granules.

I will remember Greg by his simple yet elegant science. Rather than using in vitro experiments, which would bring fast results, Greg instead chose the harder path and investigated biological processes in whole, live cells to understand how they work. With Greg’s passing, we have not only lost a colleague and a friend, but also a great scientist with a keen appreciation and enthusiasm for biology.