This afternoon, I spoke with Harold Dvorak, a colleague of Judah Folkman's at Harvard, who reacted to his colleague's sudden passing yesterday. He said that he's spent the day thinking back over Folkman's generosity as a physician, not only his achievements as a pioneer in anti-angiogenesis therapy for cancer.

Hundreds of patients contacted Folkman with problems - an incurable case of cancer, for instance - and he stayed in touch with them, Dvorak said, adding that he hears "all the time" about patients who reached out to Folkman and received a personal response. "I don't know if he ever slept," what with running a large lab and keeping in contact with so many patients. "I've never known anybody quite like him," he added.

Another one of Folkman's defining qualities was his ability to come up with novel ideas, Dvorak added. "He wasn't always right, but that's part of the risk of being novel," he said. "You'd never hear a talk by him without coming away with some new idea."

He added: "Judah Folkman was one of the most creative men I've ever met. And one of the most creative scientists I've ever met."

"Judah Folkman's passing is a tremendous and tragic loss for humankind," AACR Chief Executive Officer Margaret Foti said in a statement. "His legacy of discovery and ingenuity in the field of angiogenesis will continue to inspire cancer researchers and give hope to countless individuals living with the disease. He was certainly a valued friend of the AACR and we extend our deepest condolences to the Folkman family."