[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E552-E553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN MEMORIAM: JEAN DE VELLIS (1935-2018)

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TOM O'HALLERAN

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2018

  Mr. O'HALLERAN. Mr. Speaker, the passing of any person always brings 
dismay, sadness and the sense of permanent loss. Hence, it is difficult 
if not impossible to avoid these sentiments when writing this tribute 
to a person like Jean de Vellis. For those of us who had the honor and 
privilege of knowing and working alongside him, Jean meant more than a 
simple professor, more than a creative scientist, more than an 
outstanding colleague, more than just another boss. Jean was a fatherly 
and wise man who forever touched the heart end enlightened the minds of 
uncountable people during his 60 years of work and service for the 
advancement of science and the formation of researchers. His scholars, 
colleagues, and friends will miss him deeply and we all share in the 
sadness of Jean's wife Phyllis, and his children, Genevieve and Philip.
  Meeting Jean was an adventure in itself. There was the contrast 
between the quick smile of recognition and a twinkle in the eyes when 
you encountered him, and the thoughtful pause before addressing a 
difficult problem. With his characteristic demeanor, Jean would face 
any crisis with a rare mix of optimism, foresight and acceptance that 
life deals both good and bad hands. He would always remind us that it 
is up to ourselves to move forward in front of adversity. This 
pragmatic optimism in his conduct always felt natural, magnetic, 
iridescent. Jean had limitless faith in people, believing in our 
capacity to surpass the unsurpassable, and to constantly remake 
ourselves into something better, greater and more powerful. He would 
encourage, support, praise and believe in the potential of people, 
especially the young, and remarkably, those coming from dire socio-
economic conditions. Jean's energy was contagious and an endless 
reminder that we all have the seed in ourselves to bloom into beautiful 
flowers. Not surprisingly, Jean was an excellent and patient gardener.
   During his illustrious career, multiple societies, institutes, and 
boards, including the American Society for Neurochemistry, the 
International Society for Neurochemistry, the Winter Brain Conference, 
the Institute for Developmental Neuroscience and Aging, the Christopher 
Reeve Paralysis Research Foundation, and the Mental Retardation 
Research Committee of the NICHD enjoyed from Jean's keen mind and 
expert advice. Jean was an editor for the Journal of Neuroscience 
Research (JNR) from 1980 and Editor-in-Chief from 1999 until 2015, 
remaining as Editor-emeritus until his death. JNR was more than a 
scientific publication for Jean, it was part of his family. As editor-
in-chief of JNR, he was exceptionally supportive of multiple meetings 
such as the International Conference on Brain Energy Metabolism series 
and was a strong advocate of special issues dedicated to encompass 
broad areas of brain function. Jean was the Director of the Mental 
Retardation Research Center (now the Intellectual and Developmental 
Disabilities Research Center) at UCLA, where he worked since 
immigrating to the U.S. in 1959 as a graduate student. He held the 
George Tarjan Chair in Mental Retardation at UCLA and was a 
Distinguished Professor in Neurobiology since 2004.
   For decades, Jean and his colleagues shared successes and failures, 
both professionally and personally. Curiously partaking in the American 
dream and at the same time rooted to his French family and culture, he 
understood very well the global citizenship shared by all scientists. 
Jean often welcomed students from all around the world to work on their 
dissertations for one or two semesters. His laboratory was an example 
of a multicultural global environment, with postdocs from every 
continent. Being a creative and innovative neurochemist, Jean made 
seminal contributions, particularly to the field of oligodendroglial 
biology. He was the first to successfully develop the methods to obtain 
and culture primary oligodendrocytes and astrocytes from the brain. 
This technique, which provided investigators across the world with the 
revolutionizing capability to study oligodendrocytes, was the 
cornerstone of countless publications and it is still one of the most 
used approaches to culture glial cells in current research. In the lab, 
Jean was a warm, and engaging counsellor with so much enthusiasm for 
his research and that of others, and for studying all aspects of brain 
development and neurological disorders. He would be a strong and 
constant advocate for thinking outside of the box. Jean was generous to 
all, without distinction, and would always find the right way to help 
everyone succeed. So many of us have our paths and our lives shifted 
for better by Jean's advice. So many of us are in his debt forever.
   Atop of his kind nature, was a gentleman who would always pay 
attention to details

[[Page E553]]

such as bringing double delights roses from his garden to the secretary 
office, or oranges and grapefruits to our lab meetings, cultivated by 
his own hands in a small parcel of land in Venice, Los Angeles. He 
fondly loved that place, which he once told me, reminded him of his 
childhood at the old family orangery farm near Soliman, Tunisia on Cap 
Bon.
   Jean was like a cool breeze bringing balsamic accords to the spirit 
at dawn of warm summer mornings. Although the sadness of losing Jean 
will never disappear, we owe it to him to stand up and stay in the 
race. He was a long-distance runner and he has now passed the baton of 
his legacy to us.

                          ____________________