Roberto Weinmann, pioneering molecular biologist and cancer researcher, has died at 81

Roberto Weinmann, 81, formerly of Wynnewood, pioneering molecular biologist, cancer researcher, and associate professor at the Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, retired chief operating officer at PharmaMar USA, and former director of Oncology Discovery at Bristol Myers Squibb, died Wednesday, Aug. 23, of metastatic esophageal cancer at Community Medical Center in Toms River, N.J.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Weinmann came to the United States in 1967 and quickly established himself as a creative and innovative researcher, teacher, writer, and executive. He taught molecular biology graduate classes at Penn and directed a groundbreaking research laboratory at the Wistar Institute from 1976 to 1992.

He became director of Oncology Discovery at Bristol Myers Squibb in 1993, oversaw several breakthroughs in prostate cancer research, and worked as chief operating officer at PharmaMar from 2009 to 2013. Even in retirement, he was as passionate about helping people understand and respond to the challenges of disease as he was to finding a cure.

“He helped provide advice and counsel to many members of his family, and his friends, and everyone’s friends’ friends,” his family said in a tribute. Said his wife, Marcia Meeker: “He wanted to make a difference.”

Dr. Weinmann’s research at Wistar focused on cancer and vaccines, and he secured more than a million dollars in grants for the institute. He held 10 patents on medical innovations and told The Inquirer in 1978 that medical advances require creative thinking. “In fantasy, we scientists take this research one step further,” he said.

He lectured at conferences around the world and published more than 90 scholarly papers, and his work was cited by many other researchers, including the 2019 Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine. He was a longtime member of the American Association for Cancer Research and active with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and other groups.

Dr. Weinmann also worked at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the 1970s and the Molecular Biology Department at Princeton University in 1993. “He was always learning,” said his stepdaughter Natalie McCullough. “He had amazing dedication.”

Roberto Weinmann was born Dec. 30, 1941. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Buenos Aires in 1967 and a doctorate in molecular genetics from Iowa State University in 1971.

He married Nury Vicens in 1967, and they had son Gui and daughter Joslyne. After a divorce, he married Meeker in 2002, and they lived in Princeton. He and his wife moved to Merritt Island, Fla., after he retired in 2013.

Dr. Weinmann was an avid fisherman who learned to sail as a teenager in Buenos Aires. He used his high school graduation money to buy his first boat and sailed often later in Barnegat Bay and Florida.

He was a foodie who liked to dine out, barbecue his own steaks, and create impressive fruit flambé. But mostly, he enjoyed his wife’s home cooking.

He collected art and fine wines, listened to tango and classical music, and lingered in many museums. He watched European and South American soccer on TV as often as possible. He was funny, clever, and witty, and liked to say “on the contrary” instead of “no.”

He and his wife traveled the world, and he spoke Spanish, English, French, and German. He took up the classical acoustic guitar at 77 and generously shared his love of science, art, and sailing with his children and grandchildren.

“He was a Renaissance man,” his wife said.

“He had a love for life,” his stepdaughter said.

His son said: “It says something about how he lived that my dad enjoyed the pursuit as much as the catch of wind on the sails of the boat. … Roberto encouraged us to be creative, brave, bold, thoughtful, and unafraid.”

His daughter said: “My father was a brilliant man who set an example for his children and grandchildren to enjoy life, have a sense of humor, celebrate curiosity and creativity, follow one’s passions, exude kindness, and always save room for a little dessert.”

In addition to his wife, children, stepdaughter, and former wife, Dr. Weinmann is survived by six grandchildren and other relatives.

A private celebration of his life is to be held Sunday, Oct. 15.

Donations in his name may be made to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 633 Third Ave., 5th Floor. New York, N.Y., 10017.