Obituary of Holbrook Edwin Kohrt

Holbrook "Brook" Edwin Kidd Kohrt, MD, PhD, 38, of San Francisco, CA, passed away Wednesday morning, February 24, 2016, in Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL from complications related to a lifelong battle with hemophilia. Born December 14, 1977 in Scranton, Pa. He was the son of Mary Louise Kidd of Paupack, PA, and Dr. Alan Kohrt of Signal Mountain, TN. He was the Valedictorian of Wallenpaupack Area High School class of 1996, earned a Degree in Molecular Biology at Muhlenberg College where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and Valedictorian, and Stanford University Medical School where he was a Baxter Foundation Scholar, Howard Hughes Scholar, and American Society of Hematology Research Fellow. Dr. Kohrt was an assistant professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, renowned for his clinical trials and research examining novel immunologic approaches to treat patients with leukemia/lymphoma. Dr. Kohrt's research and clinical work focused on cancer therapy and the use of antibodies, which provoke the body's immune system into fighting – and hopefully eliminating – the body's tumors. He was a member of the Levy Laboratory on Lymphocytes and Lymphoma, which helped develop and test the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antibody against cancer for the treatment of lymphoma in 2008. Holbrook started his own laboratory in 2012, which developed five novel patented approaches to immune oncology. At the time of his passing, Dr. Kohrt's trials were being investigated at multiple sites across the globe. During his final months, Holbrook had gotten a tattoo of his favorite childhood story, The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, and his family has taken solace in the final lines of this tale: "Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest." And the boy did. And the tree was happy." In addition to his parents MaryLou and Alan, Holbrook is also survived by his sister Brie Kohrt of Huanchaco, Peru; brother Brandon Kohrt, sister-in-law Christina Chan, and nephew Ceiran Kohrt-Chan of Washington, D.C., brother Barret Kohrt and sister-in-law Angela Carlson of Easton, Pa.; beloved cousin T.J. Brunner of Philadelphia, PA, stepmother Lois Kohrt; stepsiblings Jennifer Baldwin, Katherine Czapla, and Ryan Baldwin; and his girlfriend Kendra Cannoy. Friends may call from Friday, March 11, 2016 from 6:00 to 7:00pm at Silver Birches Lakeside Resort (formerly Ehrhardt's Waterfront Resort) 205 PA-507, Hawley, Pa 18428 A celebration of life will be at 7:00PM Please visit www. Forevermissed.com/Holbrook to share stories and read about the life of Holbrook and for further information about the celebration of life ceremony. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Holbrook's memory to the Holbrook Kidd Kohrt Cancer Immunotherapy Fund at Anticancer.org. For more information, visit http://www.forevermissed.com/holbrook/#about