The statement from Dr Hussam Abu Safiya said a building opposite the hospital was targeted by Israeli warplanes, leading to the death of a paediatrician and a lab technician, as well as their families.

Another to quit was Kayla Dollar, a lab assistant in the department for about two years, who said she left in June after being rejected for a promotion to a lab technician.

His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father was a lab technician with a talent for “taking words apart and putting them back together.”

In addition to Munroe and Wisner, other Rutgers scientists on the study included Ximing Guo, a distinguished professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences; Zhenwei Wang, a doctoral student; and Ailey Sheehan, a lab technician, all with the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory.

Mr Baxter, who works as a lab technician, said he believed it was a betrothal ring.