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Dr. Xian Marie O'Brien, Ph.D.

May 2, 1974 November 15, 2016
Dr. Xian Marie O'Brien, Ph.D.
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Obituary for Dr. Xian Marie O'Brien, Ph.D.
Dr. Xian O'Brien, Ph.D. (nee Christian Shaver), 42, of Providence Rhode Island passed away suddenly on November 15, 2016. Christian was born in News Brunswick, New Jersey and grew up in Barnegat New Jersey. She graduated from MIT with a BS in Biology and Cognitive Studies in 1998, and performed post-graduate research under the mentorship of Prof. Anthony Sinskey. Xian joined the Pathobiology Graduate Program at Brown University earning her Ph.D. degree in 2010 on research performed in the Department of Surgery, Warren Alpert Medical School. She was retained in the Department of Surgery where she did her postdoctoral work and received a faculty appointment from Brown. Xian's research goal was to develop new drugs to improve the ability of the human immune system to fight disease. She published scientific papers and trained a number of young investigators. She was known for her extraordinary intelligence and wonderful sense of humor. She will be greatly missed by friends and colleagues.

Xian is survived by her lifetime partner Michael Cross, their wonder dog Howdy, her loving Mother, Dona Kozlowski and her partner David Kennedy. She is also greatly missed by her Aunt Dr. Anita Kozlowski, cousin Geannine Potter and her husband Ed as well as many other cousins.

A GoFundMe campaign, the Xian O'Brien Memorial Fund,has been established in Xian's name to support the two charities that were nearest her heart. The East Greenwich Animal Protection League where she rescued her dog Howdy as well as the Hasbro Children's Hospital where she donated much of her time.
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