News
In Memoriam: Timothy Jon Bartness
September 28, 2015
Our dear friend and colleague Timothy Jon Bartness died peacefully in his home on September 24, 2015 after a year of battling Multiple Myeloma. Born September 1, 1953 in Albert Lea, MN he spent most of his childhood in Faribault, MN. He subsequently received a PhD from the University of Florida and joined the faculty of Georgia State University in 1988. Tim was internationally recognized and celebrated for his research on obesity and mentorship of young scientists.
Tim’s innovative work elucidated how day length controls body fat loss and gain, and showed how chemical messengers in the brain affect hunger. Tim’s efforts focused on understanding how adipose tissue talks and listens to the brain. Tim recently founded and was Director of the Center for Obesity Reversal at Georgia State University. He was a prolific scientist, with over 184 peer-reviewed publications. He received consistent NIH funding since 1984, including the prestigious MERIT award. He has mentored 24 graduate students and trained 13 postdoctoral fellows. He will be deeply missed.
Survivors include his companion of 16 years, Ruth Harris of Augusta, GA, his daughter Lacey Morgan, her husband Gray, and their children Grafton and Lily of Greenville, SC, and his son Zach Bartness and his fiancé Lauren Dotson of Greenville, SC. Tim was preceded in death by his parents Carl and Beverly Bartness and his brother Lonnie.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Bartness Award Fund at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation).
Jill Schneider wrote a beautiful piece about Tim on her blog.