Those We Lost in 2020

The scientific community bid farewell to researchers who furthered the fields of molecular biology, virology, sleep science, and immunology, among others.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 7 min read

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obituary, obituaries, roundup, end of the year, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pandemic, coronavirus, immunology, genetics & genomics, cell & molecular biology, HIV

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For a complete list of our obituaries, see here.

Jeff McKnight, a molecular biologist at the University of Oregon, died in October at the age of 36.

McKnight’s research focused on chromatin, a complex of DNA and proteins that controls when and how DNA can be accessed for replication and gene expression. He was one of the earliest researchers in the world capable of directly manipulating its structure, stemming back to his postdoctoral work at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center using the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. When he had started his own lab in 2016, McKnight said at the time that his “real dream” was to apply his work to the dozens of human diseases that involve some level of chromatin disruption, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s.

Prior to his death from lymphoma, McKnight had spent months chronicling his diagnosis and treatment on social media, prompting an outpouring of ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
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Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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