Gerald N. Callahan

Gerald “Gerry” N. Callahan was a Renaissance man: loving family man, award-winning writer/poet, gifted immunologist, inspirational teacher, insightful mentor, fierce friend. He had a limitless capacity for expansive thought and the ability to combine his love of science and creative writing into philosophy. He believed the stories we tell are infectious agents with the power to heal or destroy. Although he died in 2020, he leaves behind a legacy of imagination and inspiration that thrives in his family, friends, readers, and students.

After completing his Ph.D., in experimental pathology at the University of Utah, Gerry began his career as part of a Nobel Prize-winning scientific research team at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, Calif., in 1974. Ten years later, he joined the faculty of Colorado State University’s (CSU) Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology where —after 38 years—he closed his career as professor of immunology and public understanding of science. At CSU, his research focused on the workings of human immune and nervous systems and the nature of human selves. In recognition of his literary contributions to popular scientific literature, he received a joint appointment in the Department of English at CSU in 2004.

During his career, Gerry published more than 50 scientific papers, more than 70 poems and essays in literary journals and five popular-science books. He had just completed his sixth book a few weeks before his death. His family plans to publish that last manuscript in 2025. He also received numerous awards for his science, writing and teaching, including: three National Research Service Awards, designation as a Leukemia Society of America Scholar, Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship for creative nonfiction, nomination for a Pulitzer Prize and the Outstanding Science Faculty Award in 2012.

Gerry was past director of the Creative Nonfiction Graduate Program in the Department of English at Colorado State University, was voted Honors Professor of the Year in 2019, and was the 2019 recipient of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Teaching Award. He pioneered and taught courses in the construction of self, human and animal disease, as well as scientific and creative writing.

He and his work have been featured on or in several media outlets, including: National Geographic Television, ABC Evening News, the Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, the Chicago Tribune, National Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, Utah Public Radio, Talk Radio Europe–Spain, Ms. Magazine, the New Scientist, Playboy Magazine, Discover Magazine, USA Today, the Vancouver Sun, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Georgia Straight, Slate.com, the Rocky Mountain News, ESPN, Publisher’s Weekly, Semana Magazine–Columbia and EPOCA magazine–Brazil. His works have been translated into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese.

Gerry was an avid cyclist, hiker, river runner, dog lover, and champion of human rights. He firmly believed the stories we hold inside ourselves drive human behavior.