James David Weisfeld-Adams, M.B.Ch.B., Assistant Professor in Pediatrics, Section of Clinical Genetics and Metabolism, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA (born: Hastings, UK, 1979, MD University of Aberdeen; deceased: Denver, CO, USA, April 2, 2018)

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of our colleague and friend, Dr. James Weisfeld-Adams. James died at home surrounded by his family on April 2nd following an extended battle with renal cancer. James grew up in West Somerset, England, in the Exmoor forest. James received his medical degree from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and did his Pediatric training in Glasgow. He then did a combined Pediatric and Medical Genetics residency and his Clinical Biochemical Genetics fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He joined the faculty at Mount Sinai in January 2012 before he joined us in Colorado beginning in December 2013. James had a clear love for the study of inborn errors of metabolism and was extremely passionate and conscientious regarding the care of his patients. His academic focus was on homocystinuria, cobalamin defects, and urea cycle disorders. He was the local site principal investigator for the national Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium, the local site principal investigator for the European Network and Registry for Homocystinurias and Methylation Defects https://www.e-hod.org and a member of their clinical care guidelines committee, and a medical advisor for the Homocystinuria Network America. He was widely known and respected for his work in these areas and had many local, national, and international collaborators that will miss his insight, enthusiasm, and knowledge. James also had a passion for teaching and enjoyed mentoring graduate genetic counseling students, medical genetics residents, and biochemical genetics fellows.

We remember a compassionate, caring individual with a calm, reflective personality who was easy to work with, considerate of his colleagues, and devoted to his family. Over the past two years, James continued to strive in his academic work, despite his health struggles. He continued to write insightful comments on metab-L up to the last week of his life.

Exmoor and Scotland were special places for James. He was very supportive of his new home in the USA both at Mount Sinai and at the University of Colorado. The end was peaceful, and he felt well supported by family and friends. It is tragic to see a young, promising academic career cut short, but more so to see a friend, husband, and father lost. James will be missed. He is survived by his wife Emma and his two children.

figure a