Joanna Ruth Bell was born May 28, 1990 in Fort Worth, TX, and died July 12, 2022 in Spartanburg, SC. She was daughter to Dr. Richard Bell and Beverly Bell and sister to Deborah and Joel and his wife, Katie. Dr. Bell, a veterinarian, services a large portion of South Carolina with his pet-friendly, highly-affordable, traveling vaccination clinics, Bell Pet Care Clinics; Beverly assists with the family business; Deborah works as a nurse; and Katie works as a wedding and portrait photographer.
Joanna Ruth Bell was born May 28, 1990 in Fort Worth, TX, and died July 12, 2022 in Spartanburg, SC. She was daughter to Dr. Richard Bell and Beverly Bell and sister to Deborah and Joel and his wife, Katie. Dr. Bell, a veterinarian, services a large portion of South Carolina with his pet-friendly, highly-affordable, traveling vaccination clinics, Bell Pet Care Clinics; Beverly assists with the family business; Deborah works as a nurse; and Katie works as a wedding and portrait photographer.
Trustees
Joel R. Bell
Brother of Joanna Bell
(US-UK Trustee)
Joanna was such a special person, and I hope that the success of this foundation in some way reflects how exceptional she truly was.
Joel, husband to Katie and brother of Joanna Bell, was born in the United States but spent his childhood in Egypt and Croatia. Returning to the US for some of high school, he took up American football eventually becoming an All-American at Furman University and the spent a short stint with the Buffalo Bills, three years in the CFL, and one year in the UFL. After his football career, Joel attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, completing both a Master’s of Divinity and a Master’s of Theology. Currently, Joel is close to completing his DPhil (PhD) in Hebrew and Jewish studies at the University of Oxford where he focuses primarily on the ancient Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible.
Stewart W. Humble
Neurobiology (US-UK Trustee)
Through the establishment of JRBF and its future work, the Bell family have potential worldwide impact on NF1 for the sake of families dealing with the struggles of this disease.
Stewart is a National Institutes of Health-Oxford MD-DPhil who works between world-leading labs at the NIH and University of Oxford. He recently graduated from the University of Oxford with his DPhil (PhD) in Biomedical Sciences. His thesis (dissertation) work focused on functional genomics and genetic interaction mapping in hiPSC-derived neurons by combining our i3Neuron technology, CRISPR Interference (CRISPRi), high-throughput robotics, and high-content imaging/analysis.
The overarching goal of Stewart’s DPhil work was identifying common pathogenic changes elicited by disease-relevant genes that can help us understand the underlying converging mechanisms between PD and FTD/ALS.
Stewart plans to resume his medical studies at LSUHSC New Orleans in 2024 and continue to contribute to the field during Residency and Fellowship.
During his time in Oxford, Stewart, was president and general manager of Oxford University Lancers American Football Club (OULAFC). Not only did he play center and defensive tackle, he was successful in setting up the OULAFC foundation for sustained future growth – both in terms of student involvement and performance in the British Universities and College Sport league.
Ethan Kuhn
Fundraising Specialist
(US-UK Trustee)
As a trustee for JRBF, I am deeply committed to advancing research and treatments for NF1-related diseases.
Ethan, husband and father, brings extensive fundraising and leadership experience to JRBF. He currently a director for Fundraising Consultants Ltd.
A US national, Ethan has led fundraising programmes for educational institutions in the US and UK. Most recently, Ethan served as the inaugural Director of Development at St Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford, where he was tasked with creating a comprehensive fundraising programme for the Hall. With skills across all fundraising disciplines, Ethan particularly enjoys working with small charities and new startups.
Ethan is currently also a trustee of his university fraternity’s alumni board and has served as a trustee or fundraising subcommittee member for multiple environmental and art charities.
Brent C. Johnson
(US Trustee)
Joanna Bell’s faith and friendship provided hope for our family, and the JRB Foundation will honor her legacy by doing the same for many more.”
Brent and his family live in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA and are friends of Joanna Bell. Brent was born and raised in Spartanburg, where he also graduated from Wofford College. His career as an industrial chemist led him all over the southeastern USA, finally returning to Spartanburg to raise his family. His son Andrew was diagnosed with NF 1 in 2018, at around 1 year old. Shortly after Andrew’s diagnosis, Joanna Bell began visiting the same church as the Johnson family where they became fast friends.
