Martha Somerman, DDS, PhD, has been named director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), effective August 29, 2011.
Dr. Somerman has been dean of the University of Washington School of Dentistry since 2002, and is a professor in the school's department of periodontics and an adjunct professor in the department of oral biology. Since 2004, she has also served on the medical staff of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and as a member of the associate medical staff of the University of Washington Medical Center and the Harborview Medical Center.
Previously, Dr. Somerman was on the faculties of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry from 1991 to 2002 and the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery from 1984 to 1991. At Michigan, she served as a professor and the chair of the department of periodontics/prevention/geriatrics, and held the William K. and Mary Anne Najjar Endowed Professorship. She was also a professor in the department of pharmacology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine from 1995 to 2002.
Dr. Somerman's research has focused particularly on understanding tooth root development and on the application of that understanding to periodontal regeneration.
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