Shot coronavirus researcher ‘on verge of breakthrough’, says US university
- Bing Liu, who died of multiple gunshot wounds in an apparent murder-suicide, was working on a cellular understanding of the virus
- University of Pittsburgh describes him as an ‘outstanding researcher’ who will be missed very much
The University of Pittsburgh said Bing Liu, a 37-year-old research assistant professor at its computational and systems biology department, had been “on the verge of making very significant findings” into the virus before his death from multiple gunshot wounds.
According to local newspaper Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Liu was at his home in western Pennsylvania at around noon on Saturday when he was shot by Hao Gu, 46, who then killed himself.
Local police said the incident “was the result of a lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner”. Since both men were not US citizens, the investigation was handed to federal authorities to review.
The university said Liu had been part of a team modelling various biological systems in a bid to understand the cellular mechanisms of the new coronavirus, as well as the cellular basis of health complications found in Covid-19 patients. “He was patient, intelligent and extremely mature. We will miss him very much,” it said.
