Guy Richard Della Cioppa, 1949-2006

Dr. Guy della Cioppa, our dear friend, companion and colleague, died in a car accident near his home in Vacaville, CA on March 3, 2006, at the too early age of 56.

Guy was a leader in the field of research in genomics, and an instrumental business development executive in nanotechnology, proteomics and medicine. He was best known for his patent work, specifically around mapping the tobacco genome.

Guy completed his PhD. in molecular biology at UCLA, and went on to study as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology. He began his business career at Monsanto, and later moved on to Large Scale Biology, where he was instrumental in taking the company public. Guy then served as VP of business development for Chicago-based NanoInk, focusing on then convergence of nanoscale technologies and proteomics.

He moved on to head business development for Predictive Diagnostics, and in 2005 formed Davis, CA based Advanced Ideas in Medicine with long time colleagues. He has written many articles, holds several patents, and has spoken at hundreds of conferences around the world, including the LeadAmerica conferences for gifted and talented youth. He was a member of the Licensing Executives Society and recently completed executive education studies in financial analysis at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Guy loved his son, Nick, a student at Loyola Marymount, and spoke of him with pride and affection. One of Guy's core values was duty, and he felt that supporting his family was his number one responsibility. Guy was a dedicated son, caring for his mother and her home in the South Bay. He was appreciative of his sisters and their unique talents- his greatest joy last year was an extended trip to Denali to explore with Caren, his bush pilot sister- who's strength and independence and sense of adventure he greatly admired. Guy cared for his family and home, and often expressed his compliments to his wife, Taffy, as she served her community and earned her own advanced degree.

Guy was known to his friends as a witty, kind, private man, with a deep appreciation for nature, movement and music. An avid surfer, hockey player and runner, he maintained peak condition throughout his life. An accomplished guitarist, with an affinity for acoustic rock, he played and wrote songs, collaborating with lyricists and vocalists- intermixing old school folk rock of Gordon Lightfoot with the bluesy sounds of Amos Lee.

Guy sought the finer things in life: with a few particular fetishes.... he could identify the best sushi place in a dozen cities, loved Pinot Noir to the point of obsession and rated coconut flan every time he found it on a menu- he babied his cars: the ever ready to rumble collectible 1990 Beluga Black Range Rover, and dreamt of the day he could take his pristine restored VW van on a real extended camping/road trip into the Sierras.

Guy was a man of ideas. He believed passionately that engineered foods could feed the planet's ever growing population, without destroying the earth's soils and nonrenewable resources. He would debate freely, taking whichever side of the political question his opponent felt most strongly about. Freedom, especially personal freedom, was something he held dear.

Guy was always willling to help a colleague, he was curious, responsible, tender and kind, and will be deeply missed.