Dr. Beth Levine (1960-2020) was Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology, Director of the Center for Autophagy Research, and holder of the Charles Cameron Sprague Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science at UT Southwestern. In 2013 she was honored with election to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Levine was also an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), which is a philanthropic organization that promotes biomedical research. Dr. Levine’s laboratory identified the first known mammalian autophagy gene. Her research showed that defects in the gene, called beclin 1, contributed to cancer, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and infectious diseases. Dr. Levine joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2004.