22 January 2024
Passing of Professor Emeritus Newell W Johnson
It is with profound sadness we write to inform the KCL community that Emeritus Professor Newell Walter Johnson died on 20 January 2024.
Professor Emeritus Newell W Johnson
At the time of his death, he was Emeritus Professor of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London and Honorary Professor of Dental Research, Menzie’s Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Australia.
Newell joined King’s College London (formerly KCSMD) in 1993 having served London Hospital Medical College as Professor of Oral Pathology, as Hon. Director, Medical Research Council Dental Research Unit. London and Nuffield Research Professor of Dental Sciences, at the Royal College of Surgeons England; At King’s Dental Institute in addition to his duties as Professor of Oral Medicine & Pathology he was the Director, Research & Postgrad Education, 1984-2003. Following his retirement from King’s in 2005 Newell took up the position of the Foundation Dean/Head of School of Dentistry & Oral Health, Griffith University, Australia; and Professor of Dental Research, Griffith University, Australia; From 2009 and till recently he served as a Senior Fellow, Menzies Health Institute Queensland; Director of Population Oral Health; Senior Member of Infectious Diseases and Immunology Group; Cancer Research Centre.
Newell was a Fellow in Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of Eng. (FDSRCS) 1966, Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (FRACDS) 1967, Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD), University of Bristol, UK 1975, Member of the Royal College of Pathologists, UK, (MRC Path), 1982 Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, (FRCPath) 1996, Fellow of the Faculty of Oral Pathology of the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia 1998, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci, UK).
Newell’s Honours include the International Association for Dental Research Distinguished Scientist Award in Oral Medicine and Pathology, 2005; Distinguished Scientist Award for International Oral Health from the International Association for Dental Research, 2017 ; the John Tomes Medal of the British Dental Association for Outstanding Service to the Profession and the Association, 2004; election as President, Section of Odontology, Royal Society of Medicine [London] for their bicentenary year, 2004-5; and served as President of the British Society for Dental Research for 2004-6; In 2011 Newell was granted Honorary Life Membership of the British Society for Oral Medicine. The most senior honour was appointment by Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II as a Companion of the Most Excellent Order of St Michael and St George (SMG) in 2011 for services to oral health and to public health internationally.
Newell was a prolific researcher and during his long academic career was supervisor to 30 successful PhD students. He was much loved by his trainees particularly those who came to the UK for postgraduate studies from the Commonwealth Countries. Newell had a remarkable drive in all research activities he conducted on dental caries, periodontal diseases, tropical diseases affecting the oral cavity and oral cancer. He authored many textbooks, published over 600 research articles cited in the literature over 35500 times.
Newell was 85 years old at the time of his death and is survived by his first wife Pauline and his two daughters Sarah and Nicola, their partners, Luke and Murray and 3 grandchildren, Reuben, India and Aurora. His second wife Jeannette, died in 2016. The world has lost a brilliant academic, researcher and a mentor and we have lost a cherished friend.
A reflection on Professor NW Johnson, MDSc, PhD, FDSRCS (Eng), FRACDS, FRCPath (UK), FFOP(RCPA), FOMAA, FICD, FHEA (UK), FMedSci, CMG
From Ranga on behalf of IAOP
The sad news of the death of Professor Newell Walter Johnson on 20th of January was sent out yesterday and we wished to remind members of the immense and varied contribution he made to oral and maxillofacial pathology, particularly in research and teaching. Newell was a long-term supporter of the IAOP and attended nearly all of our Congresses, and many other dental conferences worldwide, as he worked ceaselessly while working and after his retirement. Many members will remember his exuberant style of questioning at conferences, often incisive but constructively critical – he frequently followed up by catching a speaker afterwards and engaged in helpful discussions on research method, often ending up drawing the researcher into a collaborative project.
Newell Johnson was born in Australia in 1938 and studied dentistry at the University of Melbourne. Almost immediately on qualifying he moved to the UK to take up a clinical lectureship but was already captivated by research. After a period in caries research at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Dental Research Unit in Bristol, where he obtained his PhD, he moved in 1968 to become Reader in Experimental Oral Pathology at the London Hospital Medical College, University of London. Many Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologists around the world will have started their careers undertaking the MSc in Experimental Oral Pathology that he established there. He then took up the esteemed position of the Nuffield Professorship at the Royal College of Surgeons and this was followed by a move to King’s College London and leadership roles in dental and oral research that are almost too many to list, a new MRC research centre in periodontal research, a dental caries research unit at the Royal College of Surgeons and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Oral Cancer & Precancer. A return to Australia saw him as founder and Dean of the School of Dentistry & Oral Health, Griffith University, Australia.
Newell was a mentor and role model for postgraduate students and trainees in specialties in addition to Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologists. Many of the UK pathologists worked with him at some time. He was a prime mover in many international collaborative studies and a relentless promoter of pathologists in resource poor countries, engaging with them in research studies and fostering their careers, drawing them into friendships and working relationships with colleagues abroad, particularly in the fields of oral cancer, epidemiology, screening, prevention, and influencing government policy in many countries.
His honours truly are too many to list but include an IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Oral Medicine and Pathology, the inaugural Fellow of the Faculty of Oral Pathology of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and Vice Chairman of the Science Commission of the FDI World Dental Federation. His most senior honour is appointment by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a Companion of the Most Excellent Order of St Michael and St George in 2011 for services to oral health and to public health internationally.
Newell has left us a plethora of published papers (over 600 research articles with a citation index of 90), several textbooks and many policy documents, many of which we will still be reading for many years to come. He also leaves many fond memories of an enthusiastic and engaging promoter of our specialty, a dedicated and influential teacher and a fierce intellect. We will not see another like him for a considerable time.
Newell is survived by his first wife Pauline and his two daughters Sarah and Nicola, their partners, Luke and Murray and 3 grandchildren, Reuben, India and Aurora. His second wife Jeannette, died in 2016. The world has lost a brilliant academic, researcher and a mentor and we have lost a cherished friend.
