In Memoriam
The Santa Fe Group is saddened today with the announcement of the passing of one of their Senior Scholars, E. Dianne Rekow, D.D.S., Ph.D.
“It was a great pleasure to get to know Dianne more personally as a SFG Senior Scholar,” said Teresa Dolan, D.D.S., M.P.H., President of the Santa Fe Group. “Dianne was fully committed to using her talents and hard work to advance dentistry, oral health, and the lives of others. The Santa Fe Group lost a shining star in our constellation of oral health leaders, scholars and advocates. I know we will keep Dianne in our thoughts and hearts as we celebrate her life and mourn her loss.”
Dr. Rekow was an Emeritus Professor and Executive Dean of King’s College London Dental Institute and Fellow of King’s College London; former Senior Vice Provost for Engineering and Technology, Chair of the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, and Professor of Orthodontics at New York University.
From 2002-2012, Dr. Rekow served in a number of roles at New York University, including chairing the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, Director of Translational Research, Senior Vice Provost for Engineering and Technology, and engaging the dental school in emergency response initiatives and activities following the 9/11 attack.
From 2012-2017, during her service as Executive Dean of King’s College London Dental Institute, she simultaneously led the Dental Clinical Academic Group, coordinating dental education and research activities of the college with two associated NIH hospitals.
Dr. Rekow also held various appointments at the Universities of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Maryland at Baltimore, and Minnesota. Her research career, primarily NIH funded, focused on applying engineering principles and technologies to improve dentistry.
After her formal retirement, Dr. Rekow volunteered her time to local and professional communities, focusing on demystifying technology and digital systems that can enhance oral and systemic health. Her tenure as a Santa Fe Group Senior Scholar was marked by an incisive curiosity, rigorous work ethic, and meticulous attention to detail applied to all her projects. Her wide range of expertise, compassing physics, mathematics, business, dentistry, as well as mechanical and biomedical engineering, allowed her to bring a variety of perspectives into focus and approach issues from multiple angles to put forth the most comprehensive of outputs. She played a leading role in establishing the Santa Fe Group as a key resource for the dissemination of clear and accurate science and information in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and her forward-thinking and formidable intellect consistently challenged her peers within the Group to ever rise toward the lofty goal of improving lives by improving oral health.
She will be missed by all who knew her, forgotten by none.
