Dr. William Robert "Bill" Brinkley

Dr. William Robert (“Bill”) Brinkley, passed away on Wednesday, November 11, 2020, following declining health in recent years. He was 84 years old. Bill was born in Weldon, Texas, on May 31, 1936, to Lee and Roxie Saline (Bass) Brinkley. Bill spent his early years exploring the Piney Woods of East Texas in and around the towns of Conroe and Willis, where he attended primary through high school. Bill was the youngest of five siblings.

In 1959, Bill earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from Sam Houston State University, where he later taught Biology and maintained the school's small natural history museum. He received a Master's Degree in Biology under Dr. James "Jimmy" Long in 1961. Bill earned his PhD in the lab of John H. D. Bryan at Iowa State University in 1964, followed by NIH post-doctoral training with Tao-Chiuh Hsu at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (1964-1965), where he was an Assistant and Associate Professor of Biology until 1972. Bill then accepted a position as Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (1972-77), where he also acted as Director of the NIH Comprehensive Cancer Center (1975-77). Bill then served as Professor of Cell Biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas (1977-85). In 1986, Bill relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, to accept positions as Professor and Chairman of Cell Biology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB), as well as the Director of the Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center (1986-91). Bill returned to his Texas roots (and Baylor College of Medicine) in 1991, to become Professor and Vice Chairman in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Vice President for Graduate Sciences, and Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. From 2004-2010, Bill also served as Senior Vice President for Graduate Sciences. Bill concluded his career as Dean Emeritus of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine.

Among his numerous accolades, Bill was a member of the Institute of Medicine and served as President of organizations including the American Society for Cell Biology, the International Federation for Cell Biology, and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. His contributions to the field were significant and included over 150 peer-reviewed publications. He served on numerous journal editorial boards, including Journal of Cell Biology and Cell, and was longtime Editor-in-Chief of Cell Motility and the Cytoskeleton. Among his many prestigious awards, Bill received the National Medal for Science Advocacy from the Australian Society for Medical Research and a Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, for his research on cell division and genomic instability in tumor cells. In 2014, Bill was awarded the E.B. Wilson Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the American Society for Cell Biology. For the duration of his career, he enjoyed sustained funding from the NIH and other foundations.

The thrust of Bill’s research focused on characterizing how human cells divide and defining the mitotic apparatus, a cellular structure that separates the genome during mitosis. Bill may have been best known for characterizing and visualizing the kinetochore, a complex protein structure that guides chromosomes to split evenly between daughter cells during the mitosis and meiosis stages of cell division. He also made key contributions in cellular replication and developmental biology. Throughout his career, Bill touched the lives of numerous scientists and students as a collaborator, mentor, and friend. Bill always took great pride in watching his research family flourish.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, his devotion to his wife, son, and students will be remembered as his most significant contribution. Bill was a passionate naturalist and enjoyed hunting, fishing, nature photography, and taxidermy.

Bill is preceded in death by his father Lee, mother Roxie, sister Doris, brother Lee (“Sonny”), sister Helen, and brother Gordon (“Buck”). He is survived by his loving wife Shirley of Houston and son Kevin of Oakland, California. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, friends and colleagues.

A visitation will be held from 5-7pm on Friday, November 20 at Metcalf Funeral Home, 1801 E. White Oak Terrace, Conroe, TX 77304. A graveside service will be held at 10am on Saturday, November 21 at the County Line Cemetery, FM 3081 and Brown Road, Willis, TX. 77378. For those who will not be able to attend, the service will be available through Facebook Livestream. Please click on the link under service information. In the event of inclement weather, the graveside service will be moved to the chapel at Metcalf Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages those wishing to make charitable contributions in Bill’s memory to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association (Alz.org), the County Line Cemetery Association (P.O. Box 1635 Conroe, Texas 77305), or a charity of their choice.

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