Psychology professor found dead in apartment Saturday

An IU psychology professor was found dead in his apartment Saturday night around the 200 block of North Walnut Street, Sgt. Daniel Carnes said, reading from a Bloomington police report.\n J. Michael Walker, 57, was pronounced dead in his residence at 11:10 p.m. after he failed to respond to Bloomington Police Department officers, Chief Deputy Coroner Nicole Meyer said. Meyer said Walker appeared to have died of natural causes and no foul play is suspected. \nPolice were initially called to Walker’s apartment after they received a call from a colleague of Walker’s, who was concerned about Walker’s health after he canceled an appointment, Carnes said.\nWalker was the Linda and Jack Gill Chair of Neuroscience and Director of the Gill Center for Biomolecular Science and Program in Neuroscience.\nHe graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from IU in 1973 and received his doctorate from Ohio State University in 1979.\nAccording to his lab’s Web site, Walker was currently doing research on molecular mechanisms of pain.