(Press-News.org) Alexandria, VA, USA – Members of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) have elected Raul I. Garcia, Boston University, USA, to serve as Vice-president. His term will commence at the conclusion of the 103rd General Session of the IADR, which will be held in conjunction with the 2025 IADR Pan European Regional Congress from June 25-28, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.
Garcia is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine at Boston University. He received his DMD and MMedSc from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Garcia’s research background is in clinical and translational sciences, and in applying epidemiologic and health services research approaches to understanding oral health outcomes. Over the past 20 years his work has focused on understanding the causes and consequences of oral health inequalities, and on testing interventions to reduce inequalities in health outcomes. He has served as the Director of the Center for Research to Evaluate and Eliminate Dental Disparities, established at Boston University in 2001 with support from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The Center’s aims are to identify the determinants of oral health inequalities and to design and implement community-based interventions, with a focus on children and their caregivers. This work involved building and nurturing a highly diverse team of investigators, from multiple disciplines and professional backgrounds, and across different institutions. Since 1991, Garcia has also served as the Director of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Dental Longitudinal Study, based at the VA Boston Healthcare System. This long-term study of aging and oral health has yielded many important insights on the associations between oral and systemic health.
Garcia has been extensively involved in both IADR and AADOCR, serving as President of the AADOCR Boston Section, Chair of the AADOCR Honorary Membership Committee, elected member of the IADR/AADOCR Joint Publications Committee, and several other positions. He was the Forty-sixth President of AADOCR in 2017-18. He is passionate about expanding opportunities for students to engage in research, and one of his goals as IADR Vice-president is to enhance the role of the IADR in mentoring and nurturing a new generation of dental scientists globally.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research 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.
END
IADR elects Raul Garcia as Vice-president
2024-12-05
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Seven researchers named to Battelle Distinguished Inventor cadre
2024-12-05
Seven scientists affiliated with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been named Battelle Distinguished Inventors in recognition of being granted 14 or more United States patents. Since Battelle began managing ORNL in 2000, 104 ORNL researchers have reached this milestone.
“These innovators have not only developed cutting-edge technologies, but they have also prioritized taking the steps to move them out into the marketplace, which is critical for adoption and broad impact,” said Susan Hubbard, ORNL deputy for science and technology. “The innovators are working on a range of strategies important for our ...
Gene therapy fixes major cause of stillbirth, premature birth in guinea pig model
2024-12-05
The life of billions of people inhabiting Earth is owed to a temporary organ that supported and nourished them in a mother’s womb.
The placenta, or afterbirth, is considered sacred by some cultures, its pivotal role in pregnancy recognized as far back as the raising of Egypt’s pyramids. It provides nutrients and oxygen to the fetus via the umbilical cord, acting like a gut, kidney, liver, and lungs.
If the placenta fails, only one hazardous option remains — premature delivery through induced labor or cesarean delivery.
Now, the first therapy to potentially ...
From one gene switch, many possible outcomes
2024-12-05
Within all complex, multicellular living systems such as plants and humans, there exists a set of genetic elements that can be likened to the blueprints, tools, and specialized personnel at a construction site for an expanding development. Plant biologists like Aman Husbands at the University of Pennsylvania study a family of skilled subcontractors, known as the HD-ZIPIII transcription factors (TFs). These subcontractors are tasked with deciding which blueprints, or genes, to follow as they guide the ...
Visiting Fellows selected for inaugural cohort of the Africa-UBC Oceans and Fisheries Visiting Fellows Program
2024-12-05
The Africa-UBC Oceans and Fisheries Visiting Fellows Program is extremely pleased to announce the selection of its inaugural laureates: Dr. Cynthia A. Adinortey (Ghana) and Dr. Antony Otinga Oteng’o (Kenya).
“We had many excellent applicants from across Sub-Saharan Africa. Ultimately, our Selection Committee selected these two exemplary scholars, and we are most happy with the result,” said Dr. William Cheung, professor and Director of UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF), which administers the Program. “These two exemplary scholars will now have the opportunity to collaborate ...
Innovative immunotherapy shows promise in early clinical trial for breast cancer
2024-12-05
A groundbreaking phase one clinical trial exploring a novel cell-based immunotherapy for breast cancer has been accepted for publication in JAMA Oncology. The technology tested in the trial was co-developed by Gary Koski, Ph.D., professor in Kent State University’s Department of Biological Sciences, and Brian J. Czerniecki, M.D., Ph.D., chair and senior member in the Moffitt Cancer Center’s Department of Breast Oncology. The study focuses on a new treatment approach that aims to harness the body’s immune system to enhance patient responses ...
Whiteness as a fundamental determinant of health in rural America
2024-12-05
WASHINGTON -- White people in rural America have unique factors that drive worse health outcomes than their urban counterparts, prompting a team of public health researchers to label whiteness as a fundamental determinant of health. They say while the health and well-being of racially minoritized populations should continue to be a research priority they urge researchers to consider factors that influence the health of majoritized populations.
In an analytic essay, "Whiteness: A Fundamental Determinant of the Health of Rural White Americans,” published Dec. 5 in the American Journal of Public Health, Caroline Efird, PhD, MPH, ...
Analyzing multiple mammograms improves breast cancer risk prediction
2024-12-05
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis describes an innovative method of analyzing mammograms that significantly improves the accuracy of predicting the risk of breast cancer development over the following five years. Using up to three years of previous mammograms, the new method identified individuals at high risk of developing breast cancer 2.3 times more accurately than the standard method, which is based on questionnaires assessing clinical risk factors alone, such as age, race and family history of breast cancer.
The study is published ...
Molecular zip code draws killer T cells straight to brain tumors
2024-12-05
More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science press package at https://www.eurekalert.org/press/scipak.
Molecular Zip Code Draws Killer T Cells Straight to Brain Tumors
Researchers have found a way to program immune cells to attack glioblastoma and treat the inflammation of multiple sclerosis in mice. The technology will soon be tested in a clinical trial for people with glioblastoma.
UCSF scientists have developed a “molecular GPS” to guide immune cells into the brain and kill tumors without harming healthy tissue.
This living cell therapy can navigate through the body to a specific organ, addressing ...
Engineered immune cells may be able to tame inflammation
2024-12-05
More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science press package at https://www.eurekalert.org/press/scipak.
Engineered Immune Cells May Be Able to Tame Inflammation
Immune cells that are designed to soothe could improve treatment for organ transplants, type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune conditions.
When the immune system overreacts and starts attacking the body, the only option may be to shut the entire system down and risk developing infections or cancer.
But now, scientists at UC San Francisco may have found a more precise way to dial the immune system down.
The technology ...
Rapid surge in global warming mainly due to reduced planetary albedo
2024-12-05
Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, heatwaves at sea – 2023 set a number of alarming new records. The global mean temperature also rose to nearly 1.5 degrees above the preindustrial level, another record. Seeking to identify the causes of this sudden rise has proven a challenge for researchers. After all, factoring in the effects of anthropogenic influences like the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, of the weather phenomenon El Niño, and of natural events like volcanic eruptions, can account for a major portion of the warming. But doing so still leaves a gap of roughly 0.2 degrees Celsius, which has never been satisfactorily ...