Emmett Vance Schmidt, brilliant scientist and devoted father, died unexpectedly on April 25, 2025 in New York City. He was 73. Emmett was pre-deceased by his late wife Deborah Hill Houghton Schmidt, with whom he shared 46 years of marriage living in North Carolina, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Emmett was born in Johnson City, New York on April 9, 1952 to the late Winsor Chase Schmidt and Miriam Tebbetts Schmidt. He grew up in Elmsford, New York and attended the Pocantico Hills and Sleepy Hollow schools. He is remembered for his time performing in musicals, playing football, and excelling academically. Emmett graduated magna cum laude in biology from Harvard University in 1974 and completed his MD/PhD at Duke University in 1981. He is pre-deceased by his brother Winsor Chase Schmidt Jr. (Lenore) and is survived by his cherished sister, D. Jill Haimes (Joel, deceased). Their childhood was idyllic; spent roaming the woods, riding bikes, and traveling throughout the United States in the family station wagon.

Emmett was passionate about improving health and touching lives through science. His work spanned decades of medical science to which he contributed over 100 peer reviewed articles. The New Yorker Magazine described him as “a very bright medical student” as part of a unique Center for Disease Control investigation in 1981. He completed his pediatric residency at Boston Children’s Hospital in the 1980s, and recalled foundational experiences caring for children during the AIDS epidemic and on cancer wards during a pivotal time in the development of therapy for pediatric leukemia. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and headed his own laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center using genetic models to identify multiple cellular events that lead to cancer, particularly with the gene Myc. He served as pediatric residency director from 1990 to 2010, supervising the training of over 300 pediatricians. Emmett transitioned to Merck Research Laboratories in 2010 as a founding member of the experimental medicine team. He was proudly involved in the late stages of clinical development of the breakthrough immunotherapy cancer drug Keytruda.  In his late career he led the external collaborations team at Merck seeking new medicines that would work in concert with immunotherapy.

Everyone who met Emmett knew immediately that he was brilliant. He was strikingly tall and sported a signature mustache that brought a smile to everyone’s face. He was known for his compassion, his larger-than-life laugh, and zeal for debating numerous topics. He loved teaching in both his professional and personal life. At the prompting of Debby to "find a hobby", he became an avid photographer in his early 50s. He took innumerable photos documenting family, his extensive travel and nature. He hiked all 48 4,000 foot-tall mountains in New Hampshire, and was often accompanied on his hikes by his children or his good friend and medical school roommate Carlton Sexton. Emmett and Carlton expanded their hiking group to many more friends climbing mountains throughout the United States, France, Ireland and Scotland. In his final years, after relocating to Brookline, Massachusetts, Emmett was reacquainted with his medical school friend Terry Taylor and became close companions sharing family events and travels. Like his father, he read every plaque and sign in a museum, and was always eager to learn and share about other cultures and historical events.

Emmett loved deeply. He met his wife Debby in 1975 in Durham, North Carolina and declared their relationship a “great love affair.” He and Debby shared a passion for art, literature and the natural world that they explored together while raising their children and sharing their home with their beloved miniature schnauzers. They attended numerous live theater and musical performances. They travelled extensively together covering four different continents on their shared adventures. Emmett and Debby carefully negotiated a balance between time spent in gardens and time spent at historic battlefields on their travels. A similar agreement was reached on camping versus yarn stores.

Emmett and Debby were proud of their three children and encouraged them to be hard working, honest and curious. Emmett read at length to his young children and out of both engagement and curiosity, read their entire suggested summer vacation reading lists every year. Emmett loved being a grandfather and spent much of his time traveling to attend all the activities of his five grandchildren, with whom he could always be seen taking lots of pictures, cheering loudly, making inside jokes, and crying tears of joy. His gifts were well thought out and included both silly and educational elements. The greatest gift of his company will be deeply missed.

 Emmett is survived by his children Benjamin Houghton Schmidt MD (Stephanie), Meredith Avery Schmidt Edelstein PhD (Jason), and Daniel Emmett Schmidt (Victoria) and by his grandchildren Maxwell Otis Schmidt, Joseph Reynolds Schmidt, Hannah Rockwood Edelstein, Clara Tebbetts Edelstein, and Pablo Franklin Schmidt. He is also survived by nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, whom in recent polling voted him ”best uncle”, a highly coveted title.

Emmett’s Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 24 at 9:00 at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge MA. Attendees are encouraged to gather outside Smith Chapel at 8:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to any medical charity of your choosing or the Appalachian Mountain Club at https://www.outdoors.org/donate/donate-form/.