Guest post by Pooja Aggarwal
Publisher, Academic Journals, Nature Publishing Group.
It was with great sadness and shock that I learnt of the death of Dr Nicole Muller-Bérat Killman, Editor-in-Chief for our journal Leukemia. Nicole died on February 23rd 2014 at the age of 82.
Few people know of Nicole’s clinical contributions to the field of leukemia. She performed one of the early HLA-haplotype mis-matched bone marrow transplants for severe combined immune deficiency (1978) and an early description of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with t(4;11).
Nicole along with her husband, Sven-Aage, made a formidable duo working together in the laboratory to unravel the biology of acute leukemias and related disorders. They spent three years with Prof. Eugene Cronkite and colleagues at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US. Tritiated thymidine had just been discovered as a technique to label dividing cells and following their fate, Nicole and Sven-Aage were able to study the lifespan of hematopoietic cells in the laboratory and in humans. Their reports on this subject are classics.
Next they returned to Denmark where Nicole worked in the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen as leader of the leukemia and transplantation laboratories. Her main research interest was the use of in-vitro cultures of normal and leukemia cells to study biological questions, but she also collaborated with her husband on leukemia diagnosis.
In 1987, Nicole and Sven-Aage founded the journal Leukemia. After Sven’s death Nicole returned to Paris (which she loved) to became Editor-in-Chief. She tackled the job with great vigour, sometimes to the dismay of many authors and reviewers. Nicole dedicated her life to Leukemia running what might be best termed a one woman show out of her Paris flat.
Nicole was one of NPG’s longest-serving academic editors and one of the most dedicated. She read every paper and ensured she was surrounded with people who were full of ideas and as much passion as she held. She often entertained colleagues at her Paris flat and many have since written to me about their experiences of meeting her.
I first met Nicole back in 2006 when I first started working at NPG. I was both fascinated and intimidated by this woman who commanded such respect from her peers and could sound fierce in her correspondence, but who always greeted me with a hug and provided the most wonderful lunches.
Lucinda Haines (Publishing Manager, Academic Journals) and I have often been entertained by Nicole’s life stories; the people she met and the places she visited. For someone who was bound by her wheelchair and had suffered a stroke, she never let this hinder her goal which was to make Leukemia the most successful journal publishing the best research. She always spoke her mind and always though ahead for new things to do with the journal and how to work with new and upcoming researchers – many an academic’s future has been moulded by Nicole.
My last meeting with Nicole was in November 2013.
Nicole was unique and the success of the journal is down to her dedication, passion and commitment. We are indebted to Nicole for her contribution to Nature Publishing Group and Leukemia will stand as a strong legacy.
Finally, you can honour Nicole’s memory by supporting the tree planting program at www.neot-kedumim.org.il
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