Tore Midtvedt, who has been a highly valued member of the Science Advisory Committee of the Old Herborn University Foundation since 1992, passed away on December 2, 2025.

Tore was born on February 24, 1934 in Horten, Norway. In 2019, he said during an interview that it was his childhood dream to become a professional cyclist. That did not work out. After finishing school he studied medicine at the University of Oslo, Norway (1952-1956) and the University of Bergen, Norway (1956-1958). He received his license to practice medicine from the Norwegian Board of Health in 1959. He earned his Ph.D. degree (Doctor of Medicine) at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, in 1968. In 2010 he was promoted to Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Honoris Causa by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

Tore held different positions at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Oslo until he was appointed Professor of Medical Microbiology in 1982. In 1983 he was appointed Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medical Microbial Ecology, Cell and Molecular Biology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. He held this position until his retirement in 1999.

He was a member of several national and international organisations, was Editor-in-Chief of the journal ‘Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease’ and member of the Editorial Board of 3 international journals. He published more than 900 publications on antibiotics, ecology, gnotobiology, infectious diseases, microbiology, and pharmacology.

In 2018, Tore was appointed Knight of the 1st Class of the Order of St. Olav, a high Norwegian decoration, part of the highest order of chivalry of Norway. This decoration is awarded for exceptional services to Norway and humanity, such as in science, art or public service. After he became a member of the Science Advisory Committee of the Old Herborn University Foundation, Tore attended all seminars from 1992 onwards and was co-editor of 10 Old Herborn University Seminar Monographs.

We will miss him greatly and will remember him as a dear friend and as a driven scientist whose ideas and discoveries will continue to have great influence on basic research as well as on the medical field. We express our condolences to his wife Kari and his family.

Peter Heidt