Alexandria, VA – A symposium to kick off the year-long celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) was featured at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the CADR. The AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition took place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 15-18, 2023.
The symposium explored a brief history of the founding of NIDCR and its early activities, followed by reflections of the former directors, Harold C. Slavkin, Lawrence A. Tabak and Martha J. Somerman, who provided their thoughts and insights into the challenges and advances made during the time of their directorships, along with the prospects for the future of the Institute. The current director, Rena D’Souza, also provided remarks on how the scientific strides made during the first 75 years has positioned the institute for further advances in the next 25 years.
“We are delighted to mark this auspicious occasion alongside our colleagues at NIDCR,” said AADOCR President Jane Weintraub. “The impact NIDCR has had on advancing the field of dental, oral, and craniofacial health over the past 75 is indeed a cause for celebration!”
Participants engaged with the current and former directors in a fireside chat formatted discussion where they could ask questions moderated by the co-chairs. Additionally, Principal Investigators from over the lifespan of the Institute presented “Vignettes from the Division of Intramural Research”. Marian F. Young (hard tissue matrix proteins), Pamela G. Robey (cell and stem biology), Jay A. Chiorini (salivary gland and gene therapy), Niki M. Moutsopoulos (oral immunology), Ashok Kulkarni (mouse genetics), and Janice S. Lee (the clinical research enterprise) detailed notable advances made in their fields during their time at NIDCR. The session concluded with D’Souza’s acknowledgement of team members, editors, and contributing authors of the “Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges” report.
The symposium, “Scientific Strides of the NIDCR: 75 Years and Beyond,” took place on Friday, March 17th, 2023, at 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-07:00).
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of the International Association for Dental Research. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.