Dr. Liu Hong was awarded a $45K subcontract from the National Institutes of Health via the company NaturemiRI. The goal of the project is to help develop a synthetic bone-graft substitute that promotes high-quality bone growth in alveolar ridge of dental patients, thereby offering a new tool in the treatment of craniofacial defects and tooth extractions performed in anticipation of dental implantation. Read more on the College of Dentistry website.

Dr. Aline Petrin (Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research) has been awarded a 5 -year career-development grant from the NIH/NIDCR totaling almost $700,000 for her project, “A Twin Approach for Genome-Wide Differential DNA Methylation in Orofacial Clefting.” Read more on the College of Dentistry website.

On July 4, 2019, Dr. Jack Gerrow (M.S. and Certificate in Prosthodontics, ’85) became a member of the Order of Canada. The Order of Canada is the country’s most prestigious honor for civilians and it was bestowed on Dr. Gerrow because of his innovation in developing competency standards for dentists both in Canada and the world. His new approach to competency testing in dental education and practice is used around the world in dentistry and in other professions as well. The announcement is available here and a video of the ceremony is available here.

Delta Dental has awarded two grants, totaling over $17,000 to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dr. Kecia Leary in support of dental student outreach events and to partially offset the costs of new equipment needed for pediatric dental outreach in Forest City and Waukon. Read more about the grants on the College of Dentistry website.

Dr. Shaoping Zhang was awarded a three-year National Institutes of Health grant totaling almost $750,000. The project is part of Dr. Zhang’s ongoing work to better understand host-pathogen interactions at the mucosal surface, and the hope is for it to potentially lead to the development of novel preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic means to improve oral health and address periodontal disease. Read more about the project on the College of Dentistry website.

In June, Dr. Isabelle Denry received the 2019 Wilmer Souder Award—an IADR Distinguished Scientist Award—at the International Association for Dental Research annual meeting in Vancouver. Dr. Denry received the award for her distinguished record of research, particularly for her achievements in developing and characterizing ceramics for dental applications and advancing understanding of the mechanisms and kinetics of processes affecting material failure.

Dr. Teresa Marshall has been named to the organization responsible for making recommendations for the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) Dietary Guidelines for Americans Collaborative includes experts and leaders in key dietary guideline topic areas. Dr. Marshall was selected for expertise in nutrition and oral health, and she, along with the rest of the Collaborative, will provide the scientific rationale for the suggestions and recommendations that the AND will make to the USDA and HHS. On May 28-29, the collaborative had a meeting at the AND's advocacy and policy headquarters in Washington DC.

Dr. Susan McKernan, assistant professor in the Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, UI College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics and a researcher in the Health Policy Research Program, was awarded a $300,000, two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her project entitled, "Evaluation of Geographic Variation in Pediatric Preventive Dental Services." Read more about the award on the Public Policy Center website. 

Dr. Morio and Dr. Brogden are conducting research on a new dental device that could help create better root canal treatments by quickly cleaning and disinfecting the area and promoting rapid healing. Read more on the Office of the Vice President for Research webpage. 

Keep an eye out for Dr. Fabricio Teixeira's forthcoming educational podcast as part of Endo Voices. Read more about the podcast on the College of Dentistry website.