Eric Dawson, age 42 of Nashville, died Monday after a short but brave battle with cancer. He was a native of Mobile, Alabama and the son of Butch and Cecelia Dawson who survive him. In addition to his parents, Eric is survived by his wife of 17 years, Renee Dawson; a sister, Maria Dawson and her husband Bill Copes of Boston, MA; mother and step-father in law, Larry and Betty Schmidt of Smyrna; father in law, Paul Combs of Richmond, KY; sister in law Rochelle Seals and her husband Shane Seals and a nephew, Luke Seals all of Kentucky. Eric earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Alabama and his PhD. in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University where he currently worked as a Research Assistant Professor. Eric worked to improve drug therapies for Alzheimer's disease, Schizophrenia and Cancer. Eric was also an accomplished and passionate guitarist who devoted himself to the guidance and mentorship of his students. Visitation will be Thursday from 5:00pm until the time of funeral services beginning at 7:00pm at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. An online guestbook is available for Eric at www.woodfinchapel.com