The School of Medicine lost one of its most dynamic faculty members when anatomy Prof. Carol Basbaum died of ovarian cancer on April 2.

Basbaum served the School of Medicine in many ways, including as vice chair of the Department of Anatomy and an exceptionally dedicated member of the Committee on Academic Personnel, one who maintained high standards both of academic achievement and of fairness and equality, according to colleagues.

"In the years that we served together on the Committee on Academic Personnel, Carol maintained a sense of fairness that is critical to the merit and promotion process. She never had a personal agenda other than to do what was best for UCSF," said Brian Alldredge, professor of clinical pharmacy and associate dean of the School of Pharmacy.

But beyond the conventional badges and ribbons that serve as metrics for faculty service activities, colleagues say Basbaum in many ways epitomized the faculty ideal.

"She had an abiding fascination and curiosity for science and medicine, she was a superb, conscientious, thoughtful mentor, and she was a respectful and interactive colleague who loved to share and develop ideas," says Keith Yamamoto, executive vice dean and professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. "And all of this was imbued with a quiet humility and grace, spiked with a powerful intellect and softened with a wry and wacky sense of humor."

During her 30-year career at UCSF, Basbaum devoted herself to research into causes of respiratory disease and made observations that have and will continue to have an important impact on scientific investigations, say her colleagues.

Her most recent studies into the cellular changes caused by exposure to tobacco smoke establish significant understanding of the process that leads to tobacco-related disease. She was able to reduce complex pathogen-host interactions into models that enabled her to extract molecular understanding.

One of the most striking findings in Basbaum's recent work was that, in cultured epithelial cells, specific changes in the activities of key signaling factors were observed within 2 minutes of tobacco smoke exposure, said Yamamoto.

Earlier in her career, Basbaum applied similar techniques to define the pathogenic pathway by which microbial LPS triggers mucin overproduction in cystic fibrosis.

"One of the many remarkable things about Carol is that she did not let her personal fight against cancer distract from her research. In fact, during these past five years, Carol's productivity increased," said School of Medicine Dean David Kessler. "Her unwavering commitment to all of these activities in the face of debilitating illness is an example of her dedication to UCSF, to science, and to our community."

She is survived by her husband, Prof. Allan Basbaum, and children Katherine and Jesse.