In Loving Memory of Dr. Brian Van Tine

With Deep Love, Immense Gratitude, and Shared Grief, We Remember Dr. Brian Van Tine

It is with shattered hearts that we share the news that Dr. Brian Van Tine, our beloved MEC principal researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, has passed away. The loss is truly immeasurable, not only to MEC research, not only to the sarcoma community, but to the entire world. He was a once-in-a-generation leader, healer, and human being.

To his beloved husband, Josh Hall, with whom he shared 26 years; to his mother and family; and to the hundreds upon hundreds of colleagues who cherished him as their mentor, friend, and guiding light, we hold you in our hearts. Among the sarcoma community, many affectionately called him the God of Sarcoma Research. And yet, for someone considered a giant in his field, he carried himself with astonishing humility, tenderness, and generosity.

Brian literally saved hundreds of lives.
He changed thousands more.
And he transformed the landscape of sarcoma research in ways that will echo for generations.

For cureMEC, his loss is deeply personal. Brian was our chief principal investigator and the hub of the growing MEC research community. With his brilliance and relentless commitment, he and his team created the world’s first two MEC cell lines and laid the foundation for some of the most exciting and promising research now underway; research that he hoped would have far reaching implications well beyond MEC. Developing those critical research tools changed everything and that legacy will live on forever.

We first met Brian nearly two years ago, after Barbara Van Hare from the Rare Cancer Research Foundation reached out to him on our behalf to see if he might be interested in studying MEC. Our first Zoom meeting, meant to be a brief, 30-minute introductory call, shifted into something unforgettable. At the outset he told us, honestly and humbly, that there wasn’t much he could offer for MEC at that moment. But as we talked, something shifted. We saw it happen in real time:the spark of an idea, the wheels turning, the excitement building as he began to think aloud about an entirely new way to study MEC and other rare cancers. 

That initial half hour stretched into ninety minutes. Both he and Barbara both blew off their next meetings, and by the end of the call he had committed to partnering with us and taking on MEC. He kept that promise, and his dedication to the work, and to our family, never wavered.

A few weeks after that first zoom, Michael got to meet Brian at ASCO 2024 in Chicago. During a reception, Brian pulled Michael in by the shoulder and, with his characteristic mix of conviction and excitement, proclaimed to a table full of sarcoma experts that Sebas was going to be the impetus for transformative change for almost every rare tumor patient in the world. The boldness of the statement left everyone stunned, especially Michael. 

The next time we spoke with Brian on the phone to follow up on his progress, he repeated that same sentiment. When we shared his words with our scientific advisors, they told us he was not someone prone to exaggeration, and that we were incredibly fortunate to have someone of his vision, brilliance, and compassion standing with us.

In subsequent conversations and in webinars, we began referring to him as the Godfather of MEC research, though even then, we don’t think we fully comprehended what a remarkable blessing it was that he had not only taken this on, but that he focused his brilliance to imagine an entirely new research approach with MEC as the model.

As we learn more about who he was in the broader sarcoma field, our humility only deepens. He didn’t have to answer our call. But he did. And because he did, families like ours now live with a hope we once thought impossible.

Our grief is complicated because we are mourning two profound losses at once: the visionary who led this work with courage and brilliance… and the extraordinary human being behind it, an angel on earth, a rare and luminous soul whose kindness made everyone around him better.

Since learning the news two weeks ago, hundreds of his colleagues, patients, and loved ones have shared stories online about how he impacted their lives, his endless generosity, his guidance, his fierce dedication to every person he served. It is overwhelming and beautiful to witness the reach of his love.

We are humbled that someone of his caliber carried MEC into the center of his heart and imagination. What a gift. What a blessing. 

Carrying this work forward is an honor. We do it for our loved ones, and we are able to do it because he showed us the way, because he poured every ounce of his brilliance, heart, and belief into this mission. Continuing this work is how we honor the life he lived and the lives he saved, including the ones dearest to us.

Thank you, Brian.
For your genius.
For your relentless compassion.
For changing what was possible.
For seeing us, and for seeing a path forward, when no one else could.

We will never stop telling the world about who you were. And we will never stop building the future you made possible.