Dr. Gisele Marie Lafond (Kim), of Dallas, Pennsylvania, passed away on December 14, 2025, at age 60, from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). She embodied health and wellness, maintaining a daily routine of Peloton rides and virtual strength training. She complemented her fitness with wholesome, home‑cooked meals and thoughtfully chosen supplements informed by peer‑reviewed research.
Dr. Lafond dedicated her life to her patients as an interventional radiologist, most recently serving as an interventional and diagnostic radiologist at the VA Medical Center. There, she led Mammography and Women’s Imaging, a program she helped pioneer. Committed to excellence, she stayed current through medical journals and continuing education and often remained after hours to read urgent cases so veterans received timely care. Patients and colleagues alike respected her skill, compassion, and thoughtfulness. Her commitment to advancing medical science inspired her three children to undertake careers shaped by advanced study in medicine and biomedical research.
A well‑respected physician in her field, Dr. Lafond continued caring for patients through late September 2025, when she began to experience concerning symptoms, including insomnia and severe brain fog. Placing patient safety first, she took medical leave to address her health. After a month of multidisciplinary evaluations and worsening symptoms, she was admitted to the Emergency Department at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where a probable diagnosis of CJD was made within a week. Only three months after the onset of her first symptoms, and six weeks after diagnosis, Dr. Lafond passed away.
Even while her medical care team had given her the tragic diagnosis, Dr. Lafond insisted that her experience be used to help future patients due to the severity of the disease and its devastating effects. In accordance with her wishes, her family donated her brain to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, and this memorial page is dedicated in her honor. Although she is no longer treating patients directly, her story and her family’s contributions support research aimed at better diagnosis, treatments, and hope for those affected by CJD. She is survived by her loving husband, Dr. Eugene Kim, and her three sons: Christopher (PhD candidate in rare genetic disease), Michael (PhD candidate in neurological medical image analysis; future medical student), and Andrew (medical student), each inspired by their mother’s devotion to science and patient care.
The family is deeply grateful to the Neurology team at Johns Hopkins Hospital, whose swift diagnosis gave them clarity and the gift of time together. Early, accurate diagnosis allowed them to be at her side, to share words and love, and to reconnect in her final days. While there is currently no cure for CJD, advances in research may lead to earlier diagnostic strategies and hopefully therapies that slow progression, extending precious time with loved ones. We hope Dr. Lafond’s life and legacy will inspire support for the CJD Foundation, so that one day no patient or family will need to endure this devastating disease.