J Dent Res 85(4):295, 2006
© 2006 International and American Associations for Dental Research
HOWARD MILTON MYERS
Ernest Newbrun, UCSF
Ernest Newbrun, UCSF Howard Myers, a renowned dental educator and research scientist, died on February 6 at his home in San Francisco, California, at the age of 82, from kidney failure, after a long and distinguished career in dental education and research. Howie, as his friends called him, was a popular lecturer and teacher, and inspired many trainees in the basic science graduate program at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) to pursue academic careers. He served as President of the American Association for Dental Research (1974–75) and was Editor of Monographs in Oral Science for Karger Press.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1923, Myers attended Boys’ High School, served in the US Army from 1942 to 1945, and helped liberate the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany. He graduated from dental school at Case Western Reserve University in 1949, and later earned a Master of Science degree in oral biology at UCSF, working with Dr. Herman Becks, before joining the faculty of the School of Dentistry. From 1954 to 1958, he pursued graduate studies at the University of Rochester, where he was awarded a PhD in toxicology/pharmacology for his studies on the hydration shell of hydroxyapatite, the principal mineral in dental enamel.
Upon returning to UCSF in 1958, Myers taught biochemistry and directed the Basic Science Graduate Program in the School of Dentistry until 1971. He also received an MA in education from San Francisco State University in 1964. In 1974, after three years of teaching biochemistry at the University of the Pacific dental school, the University of Pennsylvania recruited him to be director of the Center for Oral Health Research. He taught Pharmacology there until his retirement in 1986. After returning to San Francisco, he continued to teach part-time as adjunct professor both at UCSF and at the California School of Podiatry.
Myers is survived by his wife of 34 years, the former Louise Perry, and three children from his first marriage: sons Clifford and Steven, of San Francisco; daughter Nancy Silver, and two granddaughters, Zoe and Roxanne Silver, of Pacifica, California.
