William H. Wells

Professor William W. Wells was born in Traverse City, MI and was educated in Lansing schools. He graduated from East Lansing High School in 1945 where he was both a scholar and athlete. After service in the Navy in World War II, he obtained B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1955. His first faculty appointment was in Biochemistry, School of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh. He served for nine years followed by a sabbatical year with F. Lynen in Munich, Germany before being recruited to East Lansing in 1966 as Professor of Biochemistry at Michigan State University.

Bill Wells had an illustrious scholarly career and made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the biochemistry of sterols and bile acids, galactose-induced neurotoxicity, phosphoinositides, thiol-transferase (glutaredoxin) and the function of ascorbic acid in insulin release. He authored more than 145 refereed publications and 18 invited book chapters. Dr. Wells served on the editorial boards of Hypertension and the Journal of Biological Chemistry and numerous advisory panels and study sections for NIH, NSF, the American Heart Association, and the American Chemical Society. Dr. Wells was an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association and recipient of a Distinguished Faculty Award from the College of Human Medicine in 1995. He trained over 40 Ph. D. students and postdoctoral fellows.

In retirement Bill maintained his participation in tennis and rejuvenated his skills as a clarinet player in the Northport Community Band. Dr. Wells sang tenor in the MSU Choral Union, the East Lansing Arts Chorale, and the Unitarian Church Choir, and sang and acted in the Village Voices and the Northport Theatre Company of Northport.

Dr. William Wood Wells passed away at the age of 89 on Monday, May 22, 2017. He will long be remembered for his contributions and service which have benefited so many.