Janet Elizabeth Rideout

Janet earned bachelors and masters degrees in chemistry from Mount Holyoke College and a PhD in organic chemistry from SUNY Buffalo. She was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from SUNY Buffalo in 2014.

Janet joined the US-based subsidiary of Burroughs Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline) shortly after graduation, which brought her to the Research Triangle Park in 1970. The holder of over 40 patents, Janet led the team that conducted the groundbreaking research on treating the AIDS virus with the AZT compound. AZT was hailed as the first drug cocktail to successfully manage the HIV virus. Janet joined Inspire Pharmaceuticals in 1995 and retired in 2000.

Janet is preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Ralph “Russ” Rideout Jr; her parents, John R. Litster and Elizabeth Dewey Litster; and her brother John Dewey Litster, Sr. She is lovingly remembered by her nieces and nephews, cousins and her sister in law, Joanne Litster.

Janet will be laid to rest at Parklawn Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont. In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association and Transitions LifeCare in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy can be shared below within “Add a Memory” for the Rideout family.