Rena
D’Souza Installed as AADR’s President
Rena
D’Souza was installed as the President of the American Association for Dental
Research (AADR) at the conclusion of the Association’s annual meeting and
exhibition in Tampa, Florida, March 24, 2012. The meeting was held in
conjunction with the annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental
Research.
Dr.
D'Souza is professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at
Baylor College of Dentistry. She is also the program director of a National
Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 training grant and the principal investigator of
several NIH-supported research projects. D’Souza’s research interests lie
mainly in the field of craniofacial development and genetics, with emphasis on
the role of transcription factors in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal
interactions during tooth morphogenesis.
She
received her B.D.S. from the University of Bombay, India, and a D.D.S. from The
University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston. She was later awarded M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees in biomedical sciences at the University of Texas Health
Science Center Houston, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Dr.
D’Souza has served on numerous IADR and AADR committees and has been an
IADR/AADR member since 1984. She received the 2002 IADR Distinguished Scientist
Award in Pulp Biology Research as well as the 2005 National Student Research
Group Mentor Award.
“Dr.
D’Souza has been an active AADR member and is a strong supporter of AADR’s
advocacy efforts,” says AADR Executive Director Christopher H. Fox. “I look
forward to working with her throughout her presidency as we continue to
advocate for oral, dental and craniofacial research funding and the promotion
of AADR’s mission of advancing oral health nationwide.”
Indiana University
School of Dentistry Named the 2012 Affiliate of the Year
The
National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy®
(NCOHF) announced Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) has been named
the 2012 Affiliate of the
Year.
Presented annually to a member of the NCOHF affiliate network, the Affiliate of
the Year Award recognizes exemplary commitment to eliminating pediatric dental
disease. IUSD pediatric dentistry professors Drs. Judith Chin and Joan Kowolik
accepted the honor during the America’s ToothFairy Celebration of Smiles at the
Chicago Hyatt Regency on February 23, 2012.
“The
IU School of Dentistry is proud of its affiliation with NCOHF and is delighted
to be recognized by the foundation,” says John N. Williams Jr., D.M.D., M.B.A.,
Dean and NCOHF Board Member. “Since 2008, the foundation has awarded IUSD more
than $368,000 in financial grants and donated dental supplies and equipment,
which has enabled us to provide care to youngsters in greatest need at the
school, throughout Indiana, and in several other nations by way of our
International Service-Learning Program.”
National
Children’s Oral Health Foundation, known as America’s ToothFairy, was formed in
2006 in an aggressive response to eliminate pediatric dental disease by
providing community programs with the comprehensive resources to deliver vital
educational, preventive, and treatment services to children of the most
vulnerable populations. NCOHF has delivered nearly $10 million in direct
funding, donated dental products and educational resources to its non-profit
Affiliate network and community programs throughout North America reaching
millions of children with oral health services.
Dr. Karen Yoder
Receives IUPUI Alumni Leadership Award
Karen
M. Yoder, Ph.D., M.S.D., Director of Civic Engagement and Oral Health Policy at
Indiana University School of Dentistry and a longtime champion of underserved
populations in Indiana and elsewhere, is one of three individuals who received
prestigious 2012 IUPUI Alumni
Leadership Awards
during ceremonies at University Place Conference Center and Hotel on Feb. 23,
2012.
Dr.
William Giannobile is UMKC School of Dentistry Outstanding Alumnus of the Year
William
Giannobile, D.D.S., a 1991 graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City
School of Dentistry, has been named the school’s 2012 Outstanding Alumnus of
the Year. Formerly on faculty at Forsyth Institute and Harvard University, Dr.
Giannobile is now the Najjar Endowed Professor of Dentistry and Director of the
Michigan Center for Oral Health at the University of Michigan.
Dr.
Giannobile serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal
of Dental Research and is also a consultant to the American Dental
Association Council of Scientific Affairs and the National Institutes of
Health. Considered one of the foremost researchers in his field, Dr.
Giannobile’s lab is exploring new methods of growth factor delivery, such as
gene therapy, to stimulate periodontal tissue repair. His research also seeks
predictive markers of periodontal bone loss.
Dr. Luisa DiPietro
Appointed UIC College of Dentistry’s Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Luisa
DiPietro, D.D.S., Ph.D., has been appointed the University of Illinois at
Chicago (UIC) College of Dentistry’s first Associate Dean for
Faculty Affairs.
She began this new leadership role in a visiting appointment pending the
approval of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
UC Berkley Student
Honored for Dental Education Program
Hường
Trần, a student at the University of California, Berkeley, received the Chancellor's
Undergraduate Student Award for Civic Engagement for a free program
she designed called Super Star Smiles. The 21-year-old integrative biology
major and aspiring oral surgeon underwent numerous medical and oral surgeries
and bone grafts starting at age one to repair a bilateral cleft lip and palate.
It wasn't until she turned 17 that she had a smile to share with the world.
During
a course at the Graduate School of Education, she developed a volunteer program
in which UC Berkeley students teach basic dental hygiene and good nutrition to
youngsters from preschool through second grade in underserved East Bay
communities. They visit classrooms for 30 minutes a few times each semester.
Dr. Henry St. Germain Named President of the Nebraska Dental Association
Henry St. Germain, Jr., D.M.D., M.S.D., M.A.Ed., was named president of the Nebraska Dental Association at their annual session in April. Dr. Germain, who is Chair of the Department of Adult Restorative Dentistry at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry, will serve a one-year term. He served on the ADEA Council of Faculties from 2005 to 2012.
Dr. Jillian Wallen Named Chair of the Department of Growth and Development
Dr. Jillian Wallen was recently named Chair of the Department of Growth and Development at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry. Dr. Wallen has served as Program Director, Postgraduate Pediatrics, at the UNMC College of Dentistry. She was also recently selected as an ADEA Leadership Institute Class of 2013 Fellow.