In Memoriam: Elizabeth Jones, MD
Elizabeth Jones, MD, professor of emergency medicine, died Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at her home, following a battle with gastric cancer. She was 64.
A graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, she completed residencies in internal medicine at the Medical College of Virginia and in emergency medicine at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. She worked at the Medical College of Virginia in emergency medicine for 10 years before moving to Houston to take a faculty position at McGovern Medical School in 1999.
A senior faculty member in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Jones was the principal investigator for the UTHealth Houston hub of the Neurological Emergency Treatment Trials Network since 2006. She was a site PI of the CORE-EM hub for the Strategies to Innovate Emergency Care Clinical Trials network, which specializes in research involving critical conditions such as sepsis, status epilepticus, and stroke.
“Dr. Jones was a fierce advocate for her patients, always doing whatever it took to do the right thing. She held everyone to high standards and led by example. Her dedication and integrity inspired us all. We will miss her deeply and cherish her memory,” said Sam Luber, MD, MPH, interim chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine.
“Working with Dr. Jones for 15 years was an absolute honor,” said Misty Ottman, RN, BSN, CCRP, research nurse in emergency medicine. “She was more than just a colleague; she was a mentor, a friend, and a true inspiration. Her intelligence, kindness, and unwavering support will be deeply missed.”
She enjoyed the outdoors and was an accomplished white-water kayaker and ran the Houston, New Orleans, Paris, and San Diego marathons. Her greatest passion was cooking and baking, and she had trained at the Culinary Institute of American in New York and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
She is survived by her husband Walter House Cochran; stepdaughter Maria Christian Cochran; her mother Zama Blanchard Dexter; her brother Daniel Scarborough Jones and his wife Robin Norma Jones; her sister Amanda North Aghdami; and five nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 20 at St. Philip Presbyterian Church, 4807 San Felipe St.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial donations in her honor may be directed to UTHealth Houston, PO Box 20268, Houston, TX 77025-9998 or by visiting giving.uth.edu/memorial.