Ayşe Neşe Çokuğraş Genç, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biochemistry, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine passed away on Monday, May 12 2008 Ankara, at the age of 52 after three years of struggle with cancer. Ayşe Neşe Çokuğraş Genç was born in 4 November 1956 in Susurluk and completed her primary and secondary school education there. She attended Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy and upon graduation earned her Master's degree under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Ayşen Karan in the Department of Biochemistry of the same Faculty in 1984. She then did her doctorate in the Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Biochemistry Department under the supervision of Prof. Dr. E. Ferhan Tezcan where she spent most of her following academic career. Her work on brain butyrylcholinesterase purification earned her PhD degree in 1990 upon which she went on working throughout her life. In 1992 she became Assistant professor at Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Biochemistry Department in 1993-1994 she carried on her research studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. 1997 was the year Ayşe Neşe Çokuğraş Genç became Assistant Professor and then in 2005 she became full Professor. Dr. Genç performed novel and illuminating research on her chosen field of Cholinesterases in which she characterized the molecular and kinetic properties of the enzymes and novel drug design. She has published many scientific papers on therapeutic usage of Cholinesterases, their interactions with metal ions, chemotherapeutics, pesticides and their roles in detoxification and also has supervised both MSc and PhD students. Her last ongoing project was titled "Investigation of cholinergic system components acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase in neuronal cells through RNAi". Since 1992 she had been a lecturing in Hacettepe University in which she held courses at Hacettepe University Health Services Vocational School, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and the Institute of Health Sciences, at both graduate and undergraduate levels. In parallel with her academic career, Dr. Genç also worked in the Turkish Biochemical Society and the Turkish Journal of Biochemistry. In the TBS she was in the executive committee between 1988-1990 and 1994, the general secretary in 2002-2004 and was the treasurer for two consecutive terms 2002-2004 and 2004-2006. From 2006 on she was a member of the executive committee. During the time she worked in TBS she participated in the Organizing Committee of several national and international Congresses organized by the Society among which she was the Congress Secretary of the First Balkan Biosciences Days in 1999 and the Treasurer of the 31st FEBS Congress in 2006. Dr. Genç also worked tirelessly in the Turkish Journal of Biochemistry where she was first in the editorial board in 1988-1990. From 2003 on she worked as an associate editor of the journal. Despite her illness her meticulous work and effort was of up most importance on the journal's advance to the Science Citation Index from the Chemical Abstracts in which it had previously been accounted. Dr. Genç was a very hard working, honest, just and humane person. Those who have had the luck to work alongside her would do their best not to disappoint or disillusion her. She was also a very loving mother to her daughter Zeynep and to her students by whom she was loved very much. Dr. Genç was very lively, helping and considerate person whom we have lost far too early. We will always remember her with respect.