Joseph C. “Bo” Koster, Ph.D., research assistant professor of cell biology and physiology, died Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010, of an apparent heart attack at his home in the Central West End. He was 45.
A St. Louis native, Koster had been in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology since he was a graduate student. He started working as a research assistant in cardiology in 1987 and earned a doctorate in cell biology and physiology in 1996 under the mentorship of Robert Mercer, Ph.D., professor of cell biology and physiology. He researched the mechanism of insulin release by the pancreas in the lab of Colin Nichols, Ph.D., the Carl F. Cori Professor and professor of cell biology and physiology.
Nichols said Koster’s key breakthrough was discovering how electrical signaling in beta cells was the prime controller in insulin secretion. Turning the electrical signal off leads to neonatal diabetes in humans. That discovery helped to change treatment for the disorder to an existing drug rather than insulin injections.
“Bo was an important member of our departmental community,” said Philip D. Stahl, Ph.D., the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor and head of Cell Biology and Physiology. “He was deeply and passionately engaged in his research and made the lab his second home. He will be missed.”
Koster enjoyed running, bird-watching and his beloved St. Louis Rams, his family said.
He is survived by a brother, R. Stribling Koster of Chicago, and a sister, Ann Antoniou of St. Louis, and nephews.
Services were held Feb. 27 at St. Francis Xavier College Church.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association or the Columbia Audubon Society in Columbia, Mo.