In loving memory: Kareen Riviere, PhD

In Memoriam
Kareen Riviere, PhD
1981-2015

It is with deep sadness that we inform you that PSPG alumna Kareen Riviere passed away on Sunday, September 20, 2015 while participating in the Montreal marathon.

All who interacted with Kareen loved her enthusiasm, zest for life and passion to make the world a better place. Kareen graduated from Brown University in 2004. She received her PhD from the Szoka group in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics graduate program at the University of California, San Francisco in 2009. She was hired at the FDA in 2009 and was moving up through the organization. While at the FDA, Kareen obtained an MBA from Duke University in December 2014. During her time at the FDA, Kareen also started a non-profit foundation, the Empower Foundation, with her sister, to help women in Haiti better control their lives.

Kareen was a passionate and warm-hearted young scientist. She is remembered by us for her infectious humor; in our group when a member was leaving for a new position, Kareen would sing a uniquely appropriate song for the departing person. She embraced the principle that science is to be used to help others and strived to do this in her prematurely shortened scientific career. Kareen embraced life with a smile and perseverance in the face of adversity. Her positive attitude made those around her do the same. Kareen was 34 and did not have a chance to give her last lecture; we will miss her very much.