Bridgeport-born neuropathologist dies at 75

BRIDGEPORT — Dr. John Q. Trojanowski was born in Bridgeport, but at the time of his death in February his accomplishments in researching diseases like Alzheimer's had become known far beyond the Park City.

The neuropathologist was known for his work on neurodegenerative diseases and helped changed how modern medicine understands the mind.

Alongside his wife and fellow researcher, Dr. Virginia M.Y. Lee, he ran a research lab, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Trojanowski's work was so crucial to Alzheimer's disease research, medical treatments were devised because of it, according to an obituary supplied by his brother, Mark.

“Dr. Trojanowski created so many firsts at UPenn including a brain bank, the Alzheimer Disease Research Center and a center to develop drugs to target toxic proteins,” the obituary stated.

John Quinn Trojanowski was born in 1946 in Bridgeport and died Feb. 8 at the age of 75. His younger brother, David, said John was drawn to medicine at a young age.

“He was very smart, very intelligent. And I think he was drawn to that because he wanted to help people,” David said.

He was also an accomplished athlete according to his family. He attended Notre Dame High School in Fairfield, where he was compared to his uncle, Walter Trojanowski, a highly regarded football player at UConn. But his football career was ended by a severe sports injury that led to the loss of one of his kidneys. He returned to Notre Dame to give a 1975 commencement speech, his younger brother being one of the students in the audience.

Even at that age, David said his brother was well-known.

“He was the commencement speaker for my graduation, and he gave the commencement speech 10 years later, because of his graduating from medical school and his notoriety and connection with Notre Dame. So it was pretty good to have your brother be the keynote speaker,” David said.

Trojanowski obtained his medical and doctorate degrees at Tufts University in 1976. He went on to complete his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School.

During their research, Trojanowski and Lee discovered a relationship between tau, a protein in the human brain and misshaped areas of the brain called, tangles, which resemble noodles. People suffering from Alzheimer's disease have misshapen tau proteins that help spread plaque, leading to neurons no longer communicating with each other and robbing people of their memories.

There is no cure and the only treatment available slows down the progress of the disease but does not stop it.

Despite his impressive accomplishments, his older sister, Helen Trojanowski, said her brother was authentic and humble.

“He was just himself. He was so humble about it all and so diligent and immersed in his work, and loving what he did and excited about the progress that they were making,” Helen said.

While Trojanowski would move away from Bridgeport, his family said John made frequent visits to see them.

More recently, his health began to fail and he suffered from falls at his home, his wife said. He was rushed to the hospital, where he stayed in the ICU and his condition rapidly deteriorated. David said his brother was intubated but was still lucid.

Lee, who became audibly emotional as she spoke about her late husband, said he was unable to speak at that point but they figured out a communication method. He would nod his head for yes, and shake his head for no. She asked him if he wanted to be taken off life support and asked him, “Are you ready?”

He nodded his head yes. John died soon after. Lee said she called up the first funeral home that came to mind and found out it was the same funeral home her husband sourced brains to conduct research on, saying he conducted autopsies on them to learn more about the brain. Lee now runs the research lab herself, but said she is now planning to search for a successor.

When asked what memory stood out the most, she didn't come up with one — instead listing mundane activities, biking or flying together.

“Just the fact that we're together was a happy memory,” she said.

David said he remembered when they were younger, his brother meeting him to talk. There were seven siblings altogether, and it would sometimes be difficult to keep track of what was going on, he said.

But he said remembered how his brother made him feel.

“When I went down to see him, it was just him and I, and it was great, because he was paying 100 percent attention to me,” he said. “And you felt like you're on top of the world. That's one of the reasons why we bonded so close was because of his patience and brotherly love.”