35 year-old scientist gunned down in front of his children

We are yet again saddened to report on another murder. The numbers are now 3 digits and believed to be 106 to date. Practitioners, doctors, scientists and researchers are afraid to speak out in fear of their own lives being cruelly taken. People are living in fear, simply because they choose to help others. We now have research labs closing their doors for fear of further attacks, meaning their work will come to an end.

Tristan Beaudette a scientist was tragically and cruelly gunned down whilst on a family camping trip

The incident took place at Malibu Creek State Park, California at around 4:45 a.m. on Friday, June 22 when Beaudette was fatally shot inside his tent. The little girls age 2 and 4, who were sleeping next to their dad, were not injured.He had reportedly taken the children away for the night so his wife Erica Wu, an obstetrician, could study for an exam. 

“Words can not express the absolute devastation and sorrow we feel from the loss of someone so dear to our family,” Wu said in a statement to CNN on Monday, June 25. “You were admired by so many for your devotion to your wife and two daughters. We are all so fortunate to have known you for your short time on Earth. You were taken from us far too early, doing something you loved and with the girls you adored.”

Beaudette’s family also spoke out about their grief in a message shared on GoFundMe. “Tristan was out doing something he adored in life, being outdoors with his young girls. His wife, Erica, was preparing to take an exam the next morning,” the post read. “This was their final step before taking well-deserved time off together as a family prior to their relocation to new jobs in the Bay Area. They were about to embark on a new chapter in their lives. And then it was all taken away, by a fatal gunshot in the middle of the night, in front of his two young daughters. Not a second goes by that we aren’t grappling with the senselessness of this crime.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell told the Los Angeles Times on Monday that they are looking into other unsolved shootings in the area. 

Triston Beaudette held the Associate Director position at Allergan Pharmaceuticals, and oversaw development of some of their later stage clinical trials, including sustained release combination products and intra-ocular implants for the company.

However, 3 years prior to his current position, Tristan Beaudette was involved in the technical assessment of PLA/PLGA the foundation for the next generation protein-based nanoparticle vaccines. Next Generation vaccines that are being studied, for example, to treat certain conditions like Cancer and HIV.  Known technically as Biodegradable Polymeric Nanoparticle-Based Vaccines, the technology has recently been hailed as “The Best Hope for Eliminating the HIV Epidemic”1, a “Next Generation Delivery Agent”1 that could provide “Optimal Immune Induction”1.  It has been lauded as a novel vaccine strategy that can induce potent immune responses, yet are relatively safe from a research perspective. Nanomaterials like PLA (polylactic acid) and PLGA (polylactic glycolic acid) are currently being used as vaccine adjuvants and delivery carriers.  The long-term safety of these potential vaccines is unknown and currently being studied. (Click here to see Beaudette’s published articles on PubMed- HE’S LISTED AS “Beaudette TT”.)

Tristan did his Graduate Work at Berkley and Post Doctorate Fellow at USC sponsored by Allergan. His work at Berkley focused on “leading a team of chemists, immunologists, and biologists in the design of novel protein-based vaccine formulations”, and published a paper “In Vivo Studies on the Effect of Co-Encapsulation of CpG DNA and Antigen in Acid Degradable Micro-Particle Vaccines”.

Nobody is sure if he took an anti-vax stance, but some of the papers he authored questioned the safety of vaccines and it seemed that he was working toward improving them, much like Aaron Traywick who was attempting to do the same thing, via sidestepping the FDA and use gene therapy to “cure” cancer, HIV, and more.