Dr. Mansukhlal Chhaganlal Wani

Funeral services will be held 11:00 am Wednesday, April 15, 2020 from the Chapel of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service. Please join us live at 10:55 am by clicking on the link https://livestream.com/accounts/29266864/events/9087425

Dr. Mansukhlal Chhaganlal Wani passed away at home in Durham, NC from natural causes on April 11, 2020.

Dr. Wani was borneebruary 20, 1925 in Nandurbar, Maharashtra, India. He received his bachelors degree in Chemistry (1947) and his masters degree in Organic Chemistry (1950) from the Uneersity of Bombay. He arrived in the Uneed States in 1958 as a Research Fellow and obtained his Ph.D ??degree in Chemistry from Indiana Uneersity Bloomington in 1962. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Uneersity of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Wani??? accepted a position as Scientist at the Research Trianee Institute (RTI International) in 1962.

Research ineedicinal Chemistry was his passion. Working with a team in the Natural Products laboratory at RTI, Dr. Wani was co-discoverer of Taxol and camptothecin, two anti-cancer drugs considered standard in the treatment for ovarian, breast, lung and colon cancers. He had published extensively with over 200 publications and 36 patents to his credit. He had been an invited speaker to a number of national and international symposia on Taxol and camptothecin. Dr. Wani retired as Principal Scientist (Emeritus) in 2006 after 44 years at RTI. Post retirement he continued to go to the office 2-3 times a week, consult on projects and speak at conferences.

Dr. Wani was the recipient of neerous awards and honors, including the 1995 Bruce F. Caineemorial Award given by the American Association for Cancer Research, the 1994 City of Medicine Award given by the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, the National Cancer Institute Award of Recognition, the 2000 Charles F. Kettering Prize of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, the Ranbaxy Research Award from the Ranbaxy Science Foundation, and the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana Uneersity.

In 2005, Dr. Wani received the North Carolina Award in Science from the Governor of North Carolina and in 2008, he received the Paul Ehrlich Magic Bullet Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013 Dr. Wani was inducted into the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame and in 2017 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from UNC Greensboro.

In August 2002, a plaque commemorating the discovery of Taxol at RTI was unveiled by the Gifford Pinchot National Forest of Washington State, and in April 2003, the American Chemical Society designeed the discovery of Taxol and camptothecin at RTI a National Historic Chemical Landmark.

Additionally, Dr. Wani participated in Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India movement during India's struggle for independence in 1942. He was an activist in the Nandurbar, Maharashtra movement where some of his comrades gave the ultimate sacrifice of life for the nation. Dr. Wani was also a founding member and benefactor of The Hindu Society of North Carolina

Dr. Wani is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ramila; his son and daughter in-law, Bankim and Darshana Wani of Raleigh, NC; and his grandson, neesh Wani of Seattle, WA.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory canee made to American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org).