I first met Fred in October 1976 when I was hired as a study director and laboratory supervisor at Hazleton Laboratories in Vienna, VA.  He was my first boss and it would be fair to say that I (along with my 2 other young study directors, Bob Kapp and Vince Piccirillo) did not make life easy for him in those early years as we were a bit wild and rambunctious. However he began the process of making me into a complete professional and I credit Fred for his mentoring and patience in making this occur. As I assumed additional leadership positions at Hazleton I longer reported to him but he was always available to answer any questions that I had and counseled me on leadership issues. After living Hazleton in 1991 I did not really interact with Fred until I joined MPI Research in Mattawan, MI where he was now consulting for a number of biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Fred was often on-site and we almost always found time to spend some time together to talk families and science. I remember that he joined the MPI team that went to Brisbane, Australia for a conference and scientific presentation around 2008. During a free afternoon, a number of us visited a koala zoo and got to hold a koala, however in Fred’s case his koala had an accident and Fred got quite wet. Nevertheless he was a good sport and laughed about it. The world has lost a wonderful family man and a brilliant scientist, and I have lost one of my mentors. Raise in peace Fred, you have earned your rest for a job well done. 

Dave Serota

Kalamazoo, MI