UpdatedFri, Feb 5, 2021 at 1:26 pm CT
Reply
A Northwestern neuroscientist accused of anonymously espousing neo-Nazi sentiments on social media died by suicide Tuesday in Evanston, authorities said. (Shutterstock)
EVANSTON, IL A Northwestern University neuroscientist took his own life Tuesday morning in Evanston after he was accused of posting racist and anti-Semitic comments on an anonymous Twitter account.
Bart Van Alphen, 43, was found dead by a passerby on the jogging path in Elliot Park shortly before noon, authorities said. The Cook County Medical Examiner s Office ruled his death a suicide the next day. It is with a heavy heart that I write to share that a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurobiology, Bart van Alphen, passed away Tuesday. I extend my deepest condolences to Bart s wife, family and friends and offer support to them during this difficult time, Northwestern University Provost Kathleen Hagerty said Tuesday night in a message to the school community.
Postdoctoral fellow Bart van Alphen dies
This article mentions suicide.
Postdoctoral fellow Bart van Alphen died by suicide Tuesday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Van Alphen was found dead on a jogging path at 1181 Lake Shore Blvd, authorities said.
Van Alphen was a researcher in neurobiology Prof. Ravi Allada’s lab, where he studied and published research on the effects of sleep in fruit flies. Last month, van Alphen co-authored a study finding that deep sleep allowed flies to clear waste more effectively and recover from traumatic injuries.
Prior to his death, allegations had circulated on Twitter for several months that van Alphen was behind the since-deleted Twitter account @The Dr Caveman that used racist slurs and transphobic language, featured Islamophobia and anti-Semitism and expressed support for political violence, such as shooting protesters.
Northwestern neuroscientist who wrote anti-Semitic and racist tweets dies by suicide February 4, 2021 4:05 pm University Hall at Northwestern University, which responded to a complaint about hate speech against Bart van Alphen by telling the student to reach out to Hillel, the Jewish campus organization. (Wikimedia Commons)
Advertisement
This is a developing story.
(JTA) A Northwestern University neuroscientist who caused controversy with a series of racist, misogynist and anti-Semitic posts he wrote on social media has died by suicide.
Bart van Alphen, a postdoctoral fellow who studied sleep patterns, appears to have maintained multiple social media accounts under the name @The Dr Caveman that denigrated women, echoed far-right slurs and repeatedly called for the death and deportation of protesters, nonwhite immigrants and politicians whose views he opposed.
Summerland council has sent off letters of support to BC Housing for two new subsidized housing projects, hoping to help push forward developments to address the evident need in the community.
Baby black bats abandoned in their hundreds in Rockhampton Botanical Gardens
WedWednesday 9
updated
FriFriday 11
DecDecember 2020 at 2:32am
Both carers and experts are concerned at the mass abandonment of baby black bats in Rockhampton.
(
Share
Print text only
Cancel
Hundreds of baby black bats have been abandoned by their mothers at the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens in an event that has left bat carers worried and perplexed.
Key points: Hundreds of baby black bats at the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens are starving to death as adults suddenly disappear
Bat advocates and experts are calling for an investigation to find out the cause
Local council says dispersals by company Ecosure are within the guidelines