Werner Hoch , UH Assistant Professor of Biology & Biochemistry, passed away in Houston on July 9, 2005, surrounded by his family. Werner is survived by his parents, Kreszendia and Alois Hoch, and his brother Wolfgang Hoch, of Plochingen, Germany.

Born in Sindelfingen, Germany on July 19, 1959, Werner earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Tübingen in 1986 and completed a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Heidelberg in 1990, working with Heinrich Betz. Described by one German colleague as “a highly gifted researcher, with achievements characterized by novelty and quality—a hallmark of his work,” Werner was an expert in the field of molecular neurobiology.

In 1990, Werner joined Dr. Richard Scheller’s group at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Stanford University, analyzing the molecular basis of neuromuscular differentiation. His work resulted in several first-author papers that appeared in top scientific journals. He later returned to Germany, joining the Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen in 1994, supported by a prestigious Helmholtz-fellowship award from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Werner spent six years at the Max-Planck-Institute, where he was immersed in a research environment focused on the developmental aspects of neurobiology, and where he developed a new interest in molecular neuropathology.

After a year at the University of Bristol in England, Werner joined the University of Houston in 2002, where he taught courses in Cell Biology and Developmental Neurobiology, and carried out research on neural development and neuromuscular diseases, especially myasthenia gravis. Colleagues from the United States and abroad have lauded his research achievements, and warmly describe him as "enthusiastic, open, friendly, and unselfish, with patience and a good sense of humor."

A scientist capable of presenting complex material in a simple and clear form, he is remembered by his students as a professor whose door was always open and who always treated students with kindness and respect. Werner will be greatly missed by his UH colleagues, friends, and students, and by all of those who had the pleasure of knowing him.