Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Periodontal Res. 2020 Dec;55(6):959-968. doi: 10.1111/jre.12787. Epub 2020 Jul 29.
Tony Melcher, a highly influential and forward-thinking scientist and teacher, focussed on the origins, behaviour and regulation of cells in periodontal tissues. His recent death in April 2020, has motivated us to highlight his multi-level contributions to research in biology and the dental sciences. Tony was particularly adept at recognizing the inherent instructive power of the periodontium, most notably as a model system for studying the inter-relationships between the structure, development and functions of connective tissues. Further, his mentoring of dozens of students who subsequently went on to develop their own careers in research, and his leadership in promoting collaborations in dental sciences world-wide, engendered important advances in the importance and utility of research relating to oral tissues. Here, we reflect upon his development of a large, multi-disciplinary research enterprise, the MRC Group in Periodontal Physiology at the University of Toronto and brief commentaries of those who worked with him there. We examine his early career development and then go on to consider some of his most highly cited publications and their impact on subsequent research trends.
托尼·梅彻（Tony Melcher）是一位极具影响力和前瞻性的科学家和教师，专注于牙周组织中细胞的起源、行为和调控。他于 2020 年 4 月不幸去世，这促使我们强调他在生物学和牙科科学研究方面的多层次贡献。托尼特别擅长认识到牙周组织固有的指导能力，尤其是将其作为研究连接组织结构、发育和功能之间相互关系的模型系统。此外，他指导了数十名学生，这些学生后来在研究领域发展了自己的职业生涯，他在促进全球牙科科学合作方面的领导地位，推动了与口腔组织相关的研究的重要进展。在这里，我们回顾了他在多伦多大学牙周生理学 MRC 小组建立大型多学科研究企业的历程，并简要介绍了与他一起工作的人的评论。我们考察了他的早期职业发展，然后再考虑他的一些被引用最多的出版物及其对后续研究趋势的影响。
