AADR honors award, fellowship recipients at annual meeting

The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) will honor Rafael Bowen, DDS, as the 2014 recipient of the AADR Distinguished Scientist Award at its 43rd annual meeting held this week in Charlotte, NC.

Through this award, the AADR recognizes a distinguished scientist who has contributed research of particular significance in any of the fields related to oral science.

Dr. Bowen is a scientist at the American Dental Association Foundation's Dr. Anthony Volpe Research Center. He is credited as the inventor of resin composites and dentin adhesives, and is a recognized authority on composite materials. His research began in the 1950s and produced the first commercial products in the early 1960s. His formula is generally known in literature as "Bowen's resin."

The 2014 Jack Hein Public Service Award that honors individuals who have given exemplary service in the area of public affairs will be presented to Bruce Baum, DMD. Dr. Baum is the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Medical Research Scholars Program in Bethesda, MD. His primary role is to develop the academic curriculum that participating student scholars follow during their one-year tenure on the NIH campus.

Peter Milgrom, DDS, is the 2014 recipient of the Irwin D. Mandel Distinguished Mentoring Award that was established to provide national recognition for efforts to foster and promote research training and career development. Dr. Milgrom is a professor in the dental public health sciences department at the University of Washington, Seattle. Through this award, Dr. Milgrom is being recognized for his expertise and leadership, which has shaped the careers of numerous students, trainees, and junior faculty.

The 2014 William J. Gies Award for biological research will be presented to Richard P. Darveau, George Hajishengallis, and Michael A. Curtis for their paper, "Porphyromonas gingivalis as a Potential Community Activist for Disease" (Journal of Dental Research, September 2012, Vol. 91:9, pp. 816-820). The Gies Award is open to anyone who publishes in the Journal of Dental Research.

The AADR also announced that Kerry Leehan is the recipient of the 2014 Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation Student Fellowship. This fellowship, sponsored by the Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation, is offered to encourage research on Sjögren's syndrome.

Leehan is a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Through this award, Leehan, while working in the Darise Farris Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, plans to utilize salivary gland fibrosis (a unique trait of primary Sjögren's syndrome) as a means of investigating markers and mechanisms of salivary gland dysfunction.

Finally, the AADR announced Changming Lu, PhD, is the recipient of the 2014 William B. Clark Fellowship that recognizes investigators carrying out clinical research in periodontology. Lu is an instructor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry, Institute of Oral Health Research.

His research centers on investigating molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with human genetic dental diseases, as well as periodontal disease. Currently, he is studying the physiological and pathological role of RIG- 1-like receptor signaling, particular MDA5 signaling in the development of periodontal disease, as well as their cross talk with Toll-like receptor signaling.

Leehan and Lu also will be recognized at the AADR annual meeting.

Fellowships are open to graduate and undergraduate students working toward a Doctor of Dental Surgery, Doctor of Dental Medicine, or doctorate who are AADR members and are enrolled in an accredited U.S. institution. The fellowship consists of a stipend of $4,000.