Alexandria, Va., USA - The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) announced the 2019 winners of the IADR Innovation in Oral Care Awards during the Opening Ceremonies of the 97th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR, held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR). Each of the three 2019 winners will receive $50,000 which is funded by an unrestricted grant from GlaxoSmithKline and administered by IADR. The winners were presented with their award plaques at a reception supported by GlaxoSmithKline. The IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Vancouver, BC, Canada from June 19-22, 2019.
The 2019 IADR Innovation in Oral Care Awards recipients are:
Sahar Ansari
University of California, Los Angeles, USA
"A Growth-Factor-Free Adhesive Hydrogel for Craniofacial Bone Tissue Engineering"
Co-Investigator: Tara Aghaloo
Repair and regeneration of craniofacial bone defects have been widely achieved with bone grafting procedures. Several disadvantages are associated with this treatment modality, making bone regeneration using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) an advantageous alternative therapeutic option. The authors aim to engineer a novel regenerative and adhesive hydrogel based on alginate hydrogel containing gingival stem cell/whitlokite microparticles which can be used as a novel growth-factor-free treatment approach for bone tissue regeneration and osteoclast-mediated bone loss.
Marco Bottino
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
"Injectable in-situ Forming Controlled Release RvE1 Gel for Periodontal Reconstruction"
Co-Investigators: Steven Schwendeman and Hajime Sasaki
Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting nearly 50% of adults in the U.S. The authors strongly consider that the RvE1 gel proposed in this article can be successfully translated as an innovative, "over-the-counter" therapeutics for periodontal regeneration. The prospect of changing a tooth prognosis from "questionable" to "favorable" would help prolong the lifetime of the natural dentition and enhance the quality of life for millions of patients worldwide.
Shan Jiang
The University of Hong Kong, SAR, China
"Engineering a Sprayable and Adhesive Hydrogel for Preventing Root Caries"
Co-Investigators: Chengfei Zhang, Edward Lo, Xuechen Li and Linxian Li
An engineered sprayable and adhesive hydrogel with anti-biofouling and remineralization properties would be more convenient for preventing the occurrence of new root caries and arresting the progression of early root caries lesions. The user-friendly application mode would make it more practical for use with the elderly in general and with vulnerable elderly in particular, in both dental and non-dental settings. Successful completion of the objectives of this grant will provide insights for developing a novel product for root caries prevention that could be commercialized soon.
"IADR is thankful to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for supporting the Innovation in Oral Care Awards for 16 years. We also thank Medical Director at GSK, Stephen Mason, for his continued support of this award," said IADR President Rena D'Souza. "This generous contribution from GSK will afford deserving teams of scientists the opportunity to develop innovative concepts that aim to improve oral health for the global population."
In its 16th year of award support, GlaxoSmithKline has contributed more than $3 million to the IADR Innovation in Oral Care Awards program. IADR administers and awards the grants through a rigorous peer-review process, which was chaired this year by Cinthia Pereira Machado Tabchoury, Piracicaba Dental School, São Paulo, Brazil.
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About the International Association for Dental Research
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with over 11,400 individual members worldwide, dedicated to: (1) advancing research and increasing knowledge for the improvement of oral health worldwide, (2) supporting and representing the oral health research community, and (3) facilitating the communication and application of research findings. To learn more, visit http://www.iadr.org.