Obituary

Dr. Harald Löe

Dr. Harald Löe, an internationally recognized expert in periodontal research and Past Director of NIDCR from 1983-1994, passed away on August 9 at his home in Norway. He was 82.

His work on gingivitis, bacteria and antimicrobials, including chlorhexidine, contributed to his strong advocacy of both fundamental and clinical investigations while at the NIDCR.

Calling his legacy “formidable,” Lois Cohen, Ph.D., spoke of Dr. Löe’s considerable accomplishments at the recent 60th Anniversary of the NIDCR sponsored by FNIDCR, including doubling the NIDCR budget from about “$80 million to almost $170 million. He led the effort to establish the Dentist Scientist Award program and internationalized NIDCR’s research agenda,” she said, “as the NIDR became the WHO Collaborating Center for Dental Research and Training. He created, with the help of a Congressional directive, 30 centers for oral health research around the country. He was very concerned about the available labor force for dental research,”

Dr. Cohen also read a note from Dr. Löe encapsulating his thoughts on his time spent as director. “I have now reached the stage in life when long memory is predominant; and as I contemplate my six decades of involvement in dental research, education and practice, I think of my time in the Institute as especially interesting, important and meaningful. I continue to be proud of the Institute’s past and current scientific endeavors and its impact on oral health improvements around the world.”

During his time at NIDCR, he reorganized the Mineralized Tissue Research Branch and it became the only bone and mineralized tissue research branch at the NIH and one of less than a dozen of its kind in the US. He expanded the National Caries Program to include Epidemiology and Oral Diseases Prevention. And coming from a position of Dean of the University of Connecticut’s Dental School, he assigned a high priority to dental research training. He inaugurated the Dentist Scientist Award Program designed to enable dentists to develop as independent clinical research investigators.

Building on a new 5-year research plan, he established specialized caries research centers in university environments, funded new oral biology research centers and grew the Centers program as encouraged by a Congressional directive, initiated a first nationwide survey of the dental health of American adults and then followed it with a Research and Action Program to Improve the Oral Health of Older Americans and Other Adults at High Risk. Another national study of children’s caries prevalence was launched and findings released in 1988.

A number of outreach activities occurred during this period, from consensus and technology assessment conferences to programs for clinicians, Scientific Frontiers in Clinical Dentistry, and a first meeting of the leadership in dental schools focused on capacity building for education and research. To reach the general public, a National Oral Health Information Clearinghouse was established in 1993.

In order to focus on the best science globally, Dr. Loe partnered with other NIH components, international associations and the World Health Organization to craft an international research agenda of questions requiring international collaboration. During his tenure, NIDR became the WHO Collaborating Center for International Collaborative Dental Research and Training.