In memoriam: Jacov Tal (1940-2005)

I recently received news that Jacov Tal died. He was remembered in the journal Retrovirology in an editorial titled, Jacov Tal (1940 - 2005): remembrances of a friend.

When I was a post-doctoral fellow at the NIH, I shared bench space with him for several months. I remember he was a very expressive man sharing stories and opinions about whatever with never a dull moment. I feel appreciation as I look back at that short but good time of our interaction because I received encouragment from him, the seasoned veteran of research life, while I was just starting out. Lastly I sense, as all do when someone you know even if only briefly has passed from the scene, a sadness that time went by so quickly. He returned to Israel after his sabbatical at the NIH and I got an email from him me wondering if I would someday visit Israel and stop by his lab. I emailed back that indeed, visiting Israel was something I hoped to do in my lifetime. He wrote back, well, you know some people's lifetimes are a little further along than others. To my regret, I've still yet to visit Israel.

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