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American microbiologist (1930–2025)
Walter Reid Dowdle (December 11, 1930 – November 17, 2025) was an American microbiologist. He was the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1987 to 1994.[1]
He was born on December 11, 1930 in Irvington, Alabama and grew up in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. He received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in 1957 in bacteriology from the University of Alabama, and then obtained a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Maryland before joining the CDC in 1960.[1] By 1976, he directed the center’s virology division.[2] He died on November 17, 2025 in Hahira, Georgia. He was survived by his wife and three children.[1]
