John McDowell, a global leader in the study of plant-pathogen interactions and professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech, passed away on Dec. 24 after a 19-month battle with cancer. He was 59 years old. 

Virginia Tech was his academic home for 24 years, starting as assistant professor in the former Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. McDowell rose through the ranks, becoming professor and interim department head in 2010. In 2017, he was appointed the J.B. Stroobants Professor of Biotechnology by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

He also held appointments with the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, including serving as its scientific director from 2013-21 and principal scientist for Latham Hall.

In 2021, McDowell took a one-year teaching absence to serve as a rotating program director for the National Science Foundation in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems and the Directorate for Biological Sciences.

McDowell was a proud member of the Hokie community and imbued the spirit of the university’s motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), which he said in a 2013 Fralin Explorer Magazine interview defined the essence of his job. 

“I know it sounds kind of corny, but it really is true that my day-to-day activities are in service to the U.S. taxpayers who subsidize my research, state taxpayers who subsidize my teaching, students who invest their time and effort in my classes, the individuals in my lab for whom I provide training and resources, and so on,” McDowell said.

In this service to profession mindset, McDowell is remembered by the students that he nurtured in the classroom and beyond.

“It was his ability to communicate his passion for science that helped me to decide to come to Virginia Tech graduate school,” said John Herlihy, who met McDowell at a translational plant sciences conference as an undergraduate. He would later join McDowell’s lab as a Ph.D. student.

“John showed me that science is more than an academic pursuit. So much of graduate school is focused on getting a postdoc and a tenure position, but John looked outside and offered his students a look at the ways in which science impacts society,” said Herlihy, now a biological scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “He inspired me to pursue a career in policy helping implement regulation on biotechnology in agriculture and food. The path I found was only open to me with John's guidance and support.”

“His love for science and life was contagious, and his ability to make people come together was such a gift that every interaction with him was a pure joy,” said Sherif Sherif, associate professor of horticulture, who worked with McDowell on a National Science Foundation project for the past three years.

Sherif and McDowell partnered with Mahmut Tör, professor and chair of molecular plant and microbiology at the University of Worcester in the United Kingdom, and received a $400,000 National Science Foundation Enabling Discovery through Genomes (EDGE) award in September 2023. The project’s aim is to develop and optimize new techniques to investigate the function of genes in Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, an important plant pathogen commonly referred to as a downy mildew.  

McDowell was also a steady force in advancing the translational plant sciences program at Virginia Tech. This was formalized in 2021 with the Translational Plant Sciences Center, an institute-level center housed within the Fralin Life Science Institute.

“John’s unwavering commitment to advancing translational plant sciences, coupled with his dedication to the success of those around him, made him a guiding force for all of us," said David Schmale, director of the center and professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences

McDowell remained positive even in tough circumstances — an attitude that his friends and family admired and could not help but adopt themselves. In an email sent mid-December, McDowell welcomed graduate students to enroll in his translational plant science course being offered during the spring semester, illustrating his passion for life and looking forward to his teaching and research. 

John is survived by his beloved wife, Cathy, of Blacksburg; his sons, Jonah of Washington, D.C., and Ethan of Raleigh, North Carolina; his mother, Martha Jane, of Blacksburg; and his sisters, Susan and Mary, of Austin, Texas.

A celebration of life is planned for the spring. Online condolences can be made on McDowell’s tribute wall. His full obituary can be found online. 

Members of the university community who seek support or assistance are encouraged to contact these resources:



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