In Memoriam: Dr. Joseph Walder
We are saddened to share the heartbreaking news that
Dr. Joseph Walder, Co-founder of the Walder Foundation, has passed away.
Dr. Joseph (Yosef) Walder, a former biochemistry professor and founder of IDT (Integrated DNA Technologies), the leading provider of synthetic RNA and DNA for life-sciences research, passed away Tuesday at home in Highland Park, Illinois, at the age of 73.
Dr. Walder was known as much for his cutting-edge science and business acumen as for his boundless generosity within the Orthodox Jewish community in Chicagoland and beyond.
“He had a brilliant mind and an open heart,” noted Rabbi Daniel Raccah of Ohel Shalom Torah Center in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Walder was always approachable, never seeking out the limelight. He sought out those who were the loneliest and mentally challenged, and provided a listening ear, a warm meal, and sometimes, a job. Despite his extraordinary professional successes, Dr. Walder drove an old Buick and remained exceedingly humble, according to those who knew him. He got tremendous joy from giving to those in need, including the many orphans he and his wife, Elizabeth, adopted and supported over the years.
Born in 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Walder grew up in Morton Grove, a northern Chicago suburb. As a child, he was enamored with chemistry. His father, Martin, built him a chemistry lab in the basement—an entire room with a Bunsen burner, sink, and a variety of chemicals. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, Dr. Walder earned an MD and PhD from Northwestern University.
Dr. Walder joined the University of Iowa in 1978 as an assistant professor of biochemistry, likely the first to do so without completing a postdoctoral fellowship first. He went on to become a full professor, conducting cutting-edge biochemical research that included researching and developing potential anti-sickling compounds and a hemoglobin derivative blood substitute.
In 1987, Dr. Walder established IDT through a seed grant from Baxter Health Care, which was interested in his work on hemoglobin and sickle-cell disease. He held numerous patents for his pioneering breakthrough technologies. By the time he sold the company in 2018, he had grown IDT into the world's leading provider of high-quality, custom synthetic oligonucleotides (oligos).
To today’s researchers, the availability of custom oligos—short, single strands of synthetic DNA or RNA used in diverse research fields—is an afterthought. However, in the early days of IDT, there was a limited supply of oligos available, and most research centers needed a skilled chemist to produce them.
Dr. Walder set out to supply labs with high quality, affordable synthetic oligos. To churn out large volumes of oligos quickly, IDT needed numerous expensive devices known as automated DNA synthesizers. But the young company didn’t have enough cash on hand to purchase them. And so, Dr. Walder came up with a creative solution: IDT offered to purchase the machines from individual labs in exchange for around $3,000 worth of credit in IDT-made oligos. The program brought the company hundreds of synthesizers with no cash outlay, while at the same time ensuring loyal customers who could no longer manufacture oligos on their own. The company then modified existing synthesizers to increase output many times over, while simultaneously driving down prices.
IDT’s products and services continue to be used in nearly all areas of biomedical and life science research worldwide – and played a critical role in the genomics revolution. Indeed, IDT’s primer and probe testing kit, a key component of the PCR test for COVID-19, was the first to be approved by the CDC. “He was always two decades ahead of the curve,” Rabbi Raccah said.
Dr. Walder was equally passionate about giving back to the Orthodox Jewish community in Chicago. A humble visionary, he and his wife, Elizabeth, quietly supported hundreds of organizations locally and around the globe, including in Israel. They also identified gaps and needs in the community and worked hard to fill them. “Dr. Walder was an extraordinary innovator who demonstrated that you can be a leading-edge scientist and a Torah Jew,” said Elizabeth.
Over two decades ago, Dr. Walder founded Walder Science—initially a project housed in IDT’s satellite office in Skokie—to ignite Jewish students’ passion and curiosity for state-of-the art science, taught through a faith-based, Torah lens.
Soon after, Dr. Walder started the Kehillah Fund, whose mission is to unify the Chicagoland community in support of quality Jewish education. He was instrumental in the founding of Walder Education, which empowers educators from Jewish schools in Chicago and beyond with the tools and resources they need to teach at the highest level.
He believed strongly in harnessing the power of the community and inspired others to feel a communal responsibility for providing high quality Jewish education. “If the city of Chicago had a cornerstone, the Walder name would be prominent on that list,” noted Rabbi Yaakov Robinson, a rabbinic advisor to the Walder organizations.
Dr. Walder’s motivation for growing IDT over the years was to enable him to increase his charitable donations.
Indeed, after selling IDT in 2018, the Walders founded Walder Foundation, a family foundation that champions Chicago in five key areas—science innovation, environmental sustainability, performing arts, migration and immigrant communities, and Jewish life.
“My father taught me that the Jewish community can be a source of strength, empowering a person to make an impact on the world at large,” said his son, Mordechai Walder, noting the tremendous impact Dr. Walder had on both the Chicago Jewish community that he served with such devotion, as well as the scientific community and the field of genomics.
Condolence messages to the Walder family can be sent to info@walderfoundation.org.