Dr. Benjamin J. Wilson, Professor of Biochemistry, Emeritus, was internationally recognized expert in the toxicology of natural products.Born in Pennsboro, West Virginia January 7, 1923, Dr. Wilson earned both his undergraduate and master's degrees at West Virginia University. He served 10 years as chief of the Microbiology Branch in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps' Biological Warfare Laboratories in Fort Detrick, Md., during which time he earned his doctorate in Medical Sciences from George Washington University (1955). Dr. Wilson came to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 1963, after serving as associate professor at David Lipscomb College. His research focused on naturally occurring toxic compounds from bacteria, fungi and plants. Dr. Wilson was one of the six original faculty members in the Center in Molecular Toxicology, an interdepartmental system established in 1967 that provides an environment for research efforts in molecular toxicology by Center investigators and affiliated faculty from other departments in the medical center. Dr. Wilson was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, Society of Toxicology, American Society for Microbiology and the Society of the Sigma Xi. He served on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology and as an editorial reviewer for other scientific journals. His numerous scientific publications appeared in several domestic and foreign journals including Nature and Science. He died July 4, 1987. From VUMC REPORTER, July 20, 2007