Leo Lefrançois, UConn Researcher, Dies at 57

Leo Lefrançois, Ph.D., a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Immunology and Director of the Center for Integrated Immunology and Vaccine Research at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, died July 20 in Italy. He was 57.

The cause was a heart attack while hiking in the Dolomites in Northern Italy, according to a Hartford Courant report.

Lefrançois, a Bristol native and resident of West Hartford, was an "accomplished" and "widely-published" scientist, according to the university. He was a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

Survivors include his wife, Lynn Puddington, children, Dominique and Lucas, of West Hartford, and stepdaughter, Mandi Leigh, of Colorado, the Courant reports.

A memorial celebration is planned for Saturday, Aug. 10 from 2-4 p.m. at Rosedale Farms in Simsbury, according to the paper.

For more information, visit the Hartford Courant online.