In Memory of Sean (Xiaowei) Chen

My dear friend and colleague, Sean (Xiaowei Chen) passed away due to ruptured cerebral aneurysm at the age of 35 on Apr 20, 2017, at the Irving Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center. He was preparing to present his exciting findings about myeloid niche and stem cells at our group meeting on that day before his sudden and unexpected death.

Sean was such a passionate scientist, considerate and helpful coworker, and a close personal friend. It is still unbelievable for me to recall the sudden seconds when I found him in the bathroom but already without breath.

Sean was born in Hengyang, Hunan, China. He obtained his BS at Hunan Normal University in 2001, MS at Southern Medical University in 2008, and Ph.D at Chinese University of Hong Kong and Columbia University in 2014. Afterwards, Sean has been working at Irving Cancer Center at CUMC as Postdoctoral Research Scientist and Associate Research Scientist. He was devoted wholeheartedly to his research about cancer and leukemia and was extremely productive.

It is such a difficult time for me to cope with the fact that he is not sitting on the chair next to me anymore. It is and will be a tremendous difficult time for his wife Ling Wang (Phoebe), 3 year old daughter Bella and aged parents.

Sean and Phoebe just purchased a house two months ago after working diligently in the US for 6 years. Their American dream was expanding. Their big plans were turning into reality. However, all of these were devastated by this heartbreaking moment.

I even did not have the time to discuss with him about what to do after purchasing a house, that life insurance will be essential for this event. It is such a short time after he just moved into the new home. I wish we had talked about this. But sadly he has not purchased any life insurance yet.

Sean's wife works in a local firm, and is mother to their 3 year old daughter who just started attending a local preschool. With Sean's tragic death, Phoebe even doesn’t have the financial ability to cover for Sean’s funeral expenses. Besides, she has the little child and aged parents to comfort and look after. The whole family also lost their health insurance instantly. With Phoebe’s very limited income, she is facing the imminent danger of losing their new home, needless to say having extra money for living expenses and Bella’s day care fees.

We are seeking donations to help this family in their time of need, to aid in their difficult time to living without their husband, father and son. We want to assure that the wreckage to their beautiful family does not expand to the area of the finances and that the little girl can still grow up happily and healthily even without the presence of her father at such a young age.

Please help us filling his absence with our love, concern and support, and help them go through this difficult time with our company. All funds will go directly to Phoebe and her family for the caring and education for Bella.

Please donate any amount you feel comfortable, and know that you are helping a family in their most distressed time.

Thank you to all for your kindness, generosity and sympathy.