An MIT scientist who’s work spanned from creating the Apple Jacks cereal to finding new ways to detect disease-causing mutations in humans passed away Christmas eve at age 79.

Before diving into decades of ground-breaking genetics research with MIT, William Thilly founded Apple Jacks as a Kellogg’s college intern in 1965.

After helping out with a liquid cheese experiment gone wrong, Back Then History reported, Thilly was rewarded with a chance to create a new product of his own. Having grown up on an apple farm, the young intern honed in on the fruit, a 2017 Extra Crispy article said.

Thilly and a team reportedly landed on an O-shaped cereal — inspired by a discontinued cereal brand — a dried apple product and cinnamon, and a staple of the cereal aisle was born.

After his brief cereal career, Thilly graduated from MIT first with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Doctor of Science in Nutritional Biochemistry, according to MIT. He made his mark on the MIT rugby field along the way.

“I regret to announce that William (Bill) Thilly, MITRFC Captain in the ’70s and one of the founders of the (New England Rugby Football Union) passed on Christmas Eve 2024,” posted former MIT student Charlie Finn on the MIT Rugby Club Facebook page on Dec. 25. “Bill was both a teammate and a mentor on Briggs Field. RIP, Bill Thilly.”

Thilly started as an assistant professor of genetic toxicology at MIT in 1972, then was the director of MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences from 1980 to 2001, MIT said. He joined the Department of Biological Engineering in 2001, listed as a professor of genetics, toxicology, and biological engineering until his death.

The scientist originally dug into the origins of disease-causing mutations in humans with his research group. His research found “first quantitative human cell mutation assays (1976), two independent means to measure mutations in human tissues (1983-93), and a protocol to scan mutations in human organs and populations 1996,” according to MIT.

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His early research also led to key discoveries around the patterns of disease around the Love Canal and Woburn, which would be designated Superfund sites.

In the 2000s, Thilly worked further in cancer, stem cells and genetic mutation research, heading MIT’s Thilly Laboratory for years.

Thilly worked with his wife and research partner Elena Gostjeva throughout his career and lived in Winchester, Massachusetts.

Apple Jacks cereal. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)