Brian was born to Charles and Judy Olson on October 6, 1981, in Fargo, ND. He grew up in Rochester, MN, and after graduating from Century High School, he attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He met his wife Terrah there while receiving his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. He obtained his PhD in Cancer Biology at the University of Wisconsin in 2010, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship there as well, working to create vaccines to help treat prostate cancer. He spent an additional year of fellowship at the University of Chicago prior to starting his own lab at Emory University as an assistant professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, with joint appointments in Urology and Surgery. At Emory, his focus expanded to researching the immunology of a variety of different cancers.
Brian’s passion was science. He loved the excitement of learning something truly new about the world. He worked tirelessly on a wide variety of basic and translational scientific projects, and was involved in multiple clinical trials, all in an effort to cure cancer. He was an excellent mentor, and deeply enjoyed watching budding scientists get excited about research. He collaborated widely across different disciplines. He was awarded numerous research grants and awards.
Brian was a devoted father and husband. He married his wife Terrah on August 6, 2004, and they enjoyed 18+ years of laughter-filled fun. Their family grew with the births of Rhiannon (age 12), Tessa (age 10), and Benjamin (age 5). Brian loved taking his family on adventures, and took great pleasure in planning fun surprises. While he loved travelling to the mountains and the woods, his happiest place was at the beach, looking out over the ocean while the kids played in the surf.
Brian was preceded in death by his father, Charles Olson; his grandparents Odlief and Bernice (Thompson) Berg; and his grandparents Marvin and Wilma (Ellison) Olson. He is survived by his wife, Terrah (Paul), and their three children, Rhiannon, Tessa, and Benjamin; his brother, Adam, and his wife, Angie (Heilman), and children, Charles, Henry, and Keller; his mother, Judy Olson (Berg); his brother-in-law Jordan Paul and wife Liz Roginski; brother-in-law Micah and wife Matoli (Vifansi ) Paul; and his father and mother-in-law Neal and Linda (Westerhaus) Paul.
Memorial services will be held at Rivercliff Lutheran Church, 8750 Roswell Rd, Sandy Springs, GA, on Friday, March 17, 2023. Visitation will be from 2:30-3:30, and the service will begin at 3:30, with refreshments to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (https://cure.pcf.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2441&mfc_pref=T&2441.donation=form1.) or Emory Winship Cancer Institute (https://winshipcancer.emory.edu/support-winship/give/memorial-gifts.html.)
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