COMMEMORATIVE REMARKS: On December 6, Professor Bo Lundbäck passed away at the age of 74 after a period of illness. He was a senior professor in respiratory medicine at the Institute of Medicine.
Bo Lundbäck initiated several large epidemiological studies in asthma and COPD research and led the Krefting Research Centre for asthma and allergy research for more than 10 years. He was also active in discussing policy during the pandemic.
His colleagues will miss a generous, loyal colleague with an abundance of humor. Professor Madeleine Rådinger, current director of the Krefting Research Centet, and several colleagues share their memories of Bo Lundbäck and his research work below.
“Bo Lundbäck grew up in Tornedalen and received his medical training at Umeå University. As a chief physician in pulmonary medicine at the Central Hospital in Boden, he started the large epidemiological study Obstructive Lung Disease in Norrbotten, or OLIN, in 1985. In 1993 he defended his doctoral thesis at Umeå University on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Norrbotten.
Lundbäck’s Swedish and international research on asthma and COPD won him high praise at an early age through the OLIN study, which he successfully headed for many years. When the Krefting Research Centre for research in allergy and respiratory medicine was established more than 15 years ago, Sahlgrenska Academy succeeded in recruiting Lundbäck as a professor at the University of Gothenburg.
In Gothenburg Lundbäck started the West Sweden Asthma Study (WSAS) together with Jan Lötvall, using the OLIN study as a model. Since 2008, 42,000 people have participated in this ongoing research study. WSAS has resulted in many scholarly publications and several doctoral theses. The success of both the OLIN and WSAS studies was largely due to Bo Lundbäck’s energy and exceptional competence. Even after he handed over management of the Krefting Research Center to younger personnel four years ago, he continued to play an active role as a post-retirement professor.
As an individual, Bo was generous and loyal and had a great sense of humor. He had great integrity and an impressive breadth of knowledge, especially in history. We had the privilege of being his friend.
A year and a half ago, Bo was afflicted by a malignant disease. Despite the severity of his illness, he maintained his stoic composure. Now Bosse is gone, but we remember him with a great sense of loss and warmth.”
For friends and colleagues at the University of Gothenburg
Madeleine Rådinger
Göran Wennergren
Jan Lötvall
Linda Ekerljung
Bright Nwaru
Hannu Kankaanranta
Mona Palmqvist
Kjell Torén
Lowie Vanfleteren
