Alexandria, VA, USA – The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) has announced Kimon Divaris as the 2024 IADR Distinguished Scientist H. Trendley Dean Memorial Award. Divaris, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA.
Divaris is a board-certified pediatric dentist with doctoral and postdoctoral training in oral and genetic epidemiology. Currently serving as the James D. Bawden Distinguished Professor in the Adams School of Dentistry, he also holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health both at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Divaris earned his dental degree in 2005 from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Dentistry in Greece. In 2011, he completed his pediatric dentistry residency training, earned a doctorate in epidemiology, and received a graduate certificate in global health, all at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of 139 peer reviewed publications and nine book chapters. His research involves interrogating both proximal and distal determinants of oral health and disease, ranging from genomics of oral health traits and behavioral sciences to health disparities and dental education.
His research includes NIH-funded grants to carry out a genome-wide association study of early childhood caries in addition to a Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS); Dental Caries Outcomes. Previous work includes a large-scale, molecular epidemiologic study of childhood cavities among preschool-age children in North Carolina which included clinical examination of more than 6,500 children between the ages of three and five.
The IADR Distinguished Scientist H. Trendley Dean Memorial Award, one of the 17 IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards, is supported by the Colgate-Palmolive Company in memory of H. Trendley Dean, the 21st President of the IADR and first dental officer of the National Institutes of Health. The award consists of a monetary award and plaque and is given for meritorious research in epidemiology and public health. It is one of the highest honors bestowed by IADR.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.