Dafni Amirsakis—chemist, musician, and exercise enthusiast—died Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Beloved by her family and friends for her kind, open spirit and unflaggingly cheerful disposition, she passed away after experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest during her favorite spin class. She was 43.

Dafni was born in Boston on July 19, 1972 to Filitsa and Charles Amirsakis, immigrants from the Greek island of Samos. The family soon moved to the Midwest, eventually settling in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in the mid-70s. An excellent student, Dafni was also active in Badger High School's music program, playing bass guitar in the jazz band and French horn in the orchestra. She began her college career at Loyola University in Chicago before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she graduated in 1997 with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry and psychology. While in Madison, she first picked up the guitar and started writing songs to perform at the student union's open mic nights. Having taken part in a summer research program at UCLA where she fell in love with the California sunshine, Dafni did not hesitate to return in 1998 when she was offered the opportunity to continue her studies as a graduate student in UCLA's Department of Chemistry.

At UCLA, she was welcomed into the research group of Professor (Sir) Fraser Stoddart, with co-supervision from Professor Miguel Garcia-Garibay. In 2000, she met Dr. Peter Glink, her future husband, who joined the Stoddart group as a visiting assistant researcher. Her research in supramolecular chemistry focused on approaches for the dimerization of stilbene derivatives in the solid state and in solution. She completed her dissertation, "Template- and Structure-Directed Approaches for the Preparation of Tetraarylcyclobutanes," in 2002 and was awarded a Ph.D. After two years as a postdoctoral fellow in UCLA's Department of Pharmacology with Dr. N. Satyamurthy, Dafni returned to the Department of Chemistry as a staff scientist—a position she held until her passing—in the Molecular Instrumentation Center, headed by Dr. Jane Strouse.

While in Los Angeles, Dafni pursued a parallel career in music. She became a proficient fingerstyle guitar player and wrote and performed songs both solo and with several iterations of her own band. Her music combined folk, jazz, country, and pop influences and she became a fixture in LA's roots/Americana scene centered around Culver City's Cinema Bar, where she performed often. Dafni released four albums during this period, and had been working on a fifth. Most recently, she focused her talents on playing bass in the Modern Skiffle Quartet. Her most popular song, the original composition "Dimes," became a signature of both her own shows and those of the MSQ.

A lifelong devotee to exercise and healthy living, Dafni was in the cross-country running team in college and enjoyed strength training, yoga, and spinning at the gym. She was especially interested in the science of fitness and wanted to find a way to use it to help others. She had recently completed her personal trainers certification.

Dafni married Peter in 2003, and enjoyed visiting his native Australia, most recently in April of this year. She delighted in cooking for her friends and opening her home to guests, hosting many house concerts and holiday dinners, including a celebration last month for Greek Easter.

Dafni is survived by her husband, Peter; her mother, Filitsa Amirsakis; and her brother, George Amirsakis. Her family was overwhelmed by the number of people—scientists, musicians, friends, fans, and workout partners—who came to visit her in the hospital, and by the deluge of support that came from around the world. A funeral will be held at St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Church in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 15.2016 Interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, CA

In lieu of flowers, to honor Dafni's memory, her family suggests you consider a gift to the Dafni Amirsakis Memorial Fellowship Award, which provides fellowship support to graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA. A gift can be made online at: giving.ucla.edu/amirsakis . Please remember to mark your gift as a tribute in memory of Dafni Amirsakis. If you would like to send your memorial gift by mail, please post a check payable to "The UCLA Foundation" to the following address:

UCLA Scholarships
Attn: Dafni Amirsakis Memorial Gifts
10920 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 900
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Donations are tax deductible. UCLA's federal taxpayer ID number is 95-6006143.

The Dafni Amirsakis Fellowship Award was established to honor Dafni's life, music, and achievements, and to continue her life's work by providing the opportunity for future graduate students to follow in her footsteps. An award of $1000 shall be given each year to a Chemistry graduate student who goes above and beyond all expectations in his/her research, teaching, and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students, and who has a great love of music. Other criteria include helping others and reaching out to the community while displaying the characteristics of kindness, generosity, determination, joyfulness, sweetness, and good humor—all traits that Dafni had in excess.