Remembering Suzanne Eaton

The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden received confirmation on Wednesday afternoon, July 10, from the coroner’s office and forensics laboratories in Crete that the body recovered from the cave on Monday evening is that of Suzanne Eaton.

Suzanne Eaton was Senior Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, and Professor at the Biotechnology Center of the Technische Universität Dresden.

There is an ongoing homicide investigation being led by the police in Crete, which has taken comprehensive measures to ensure that the responsible party or parties will be brought to justice. “We can best support the investigation and ensure its success by helping to identify and pass on important and accurate information as well as avoid misleading or speculative distractions”, the Institute said in a statement on its website.

We are devastated by this senseless tragedy. The Max Planck Society and all its staff offer our most sincere condolences to Sue's family, friends, and colleagues. In a personal letter to her husband, Tony Hyman, Max Planck President Martin Stratmann paid tribute to Suzanne Eaton as an outstanding scientist and a wonderful human being. Eaton had been a key person, an essential pillar of the Institute in Dresden right from its very beginning. The Max Planck Society would forever remember Suzanne Eaton for all she contributed to our community and far beyond.

The Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics has set up a website to honour Suzanne Eaton’s life and legacy, where family, friends, and colleagues add their voices to pay tribute to a remarkable woman: MPI-CBG remembers Suzanne Eaton.