The Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR) online newsletter is a membership benefit. Permission is granted to repost this publication only with inclusion of the header. Past issues are posted at http://www.fnidcr.org/newsletters/index.html.

If you experience difficulties viewing this newsletter, please click here to access it on our website.

NEWS

Board of Directors
Welcome Dushanka to the Board!

The FNIDCR Board of Directors is proud to welcome its newest Director -  Dushanka V. Kleinman DDS, MScD. She is currently the Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs and Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Maryland  School of Public Health in College Park, Maryland. Prior to this she served as Deputy Director, National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research in Bethesda Maryland and was a member of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Web Site
Research Section Added to Our Site

The FNIDCR Communications Committee has some exciting new objectives and strategies for 2007-08. The first to be implemented is a new section added to our website, titled Research. In this section, we provide articles on key discoveries of the past and bring you up-to-date on research news of the present that will have an impact on dental practice.

Have a look at the new web page, or click any of the first four articles below:

Tune in for regular updates on happenings in general dentistry and in specialized care for patients whose oral health is impacted by a broad range of diseases and conditions. And if you have an article of interest, please submit it via email to peter@fnidcr.org

Newsletter
See our New & Improved FNIDCR Oral Health Research

We’ve got a brand new look and more importantly, we have some exciting new content that gives you the news of FNIDCR and insight into research grants and projects at NIDCR. Click here to see a pdf. If you haven’t received a copy in the next week or so, that means your dues are not up to date. Please contact Laikisha Jeffries (202-223-0667) at FNIDCR to bring your membership current.

2007 Annual Gala
Got Your Tickets?
December 10 is Fast-Approaching!

Thank you to our members and friends who have already contributed sponsorship or ticket requests for the 2007 Annual Gala. It’s shaping up to be a fun evening with time to see your friends and colleagues and honor some well-deserving individuals.

Washington Post, Scientific American & More to Receive Awards!
A prestigious group will receive awards at the Gala, including Washington Post and 3 writers for their work on Oral Health Care, Scientific American for a unique publication, National Museum of Dentistry and more. Click to see the list.

Congressman Simpson to be Principal Speaker
We are pleased to announce that U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho will be the Principal Speaker for our 2007 Gala.  Rep. Simpson is the Co-Chairman of the Congressional Oral Health Caucus.  As the Caucus Co-Chair, and as a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, the congressman has been a tireless advocate for NIDCR and its medical research programs and initiatives.

Send in Your Reservation for Tickets
Even if you can’t attend, we ask for you to make a contribution for this unique event.If you don’t have the Ticket Reservation Form sent in our invitation recently, click on the link below.

Start the Day at the Barmes Global Health Lecture
Before you attend the Gala, start off at 3pm, on Monday, December 10, hear an inspiring talk “Climate Change & Health” by Dr Margaret Chan, Director General, World Health Organization. Click for more details.

Special Hotel Rate in Downtown Washington
We’ve reserved a small number of rooms at the brand new Four Points Sheraton hotel in downtown Washington DC, at a very low rate of $225 per night. To make a reservation, call 1-888-627-8681 and be sure to mention Friends of NIDCR for this special rate. Deadline for reservations is November 30.

LEGISLATIVE

Monitoring Update

FY08 Funding for NIDCR
The Congress passed the FY08 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill, which includes funding for NIH and NIDCR, the week of November 5.  The bill included funding for NIDCR at $399,867,000 instead of the original $395,753,000 proposed by the House and $398,602,000 proposed by the Senate. 

President George W. Bush vetoed the bill on November 13 because the bill is nearly $10 billion higher than he would like it to be. An attempt to override the bill in the House of Representatives failed by a vote of 277-141.  Two-thirds of a quorum are needed to override the president’s veto.

The current Continuing Resolution (CR) that is funding the federal government at previous levels expires November 16.  As a result, Congress passed another CR to fund the government through December 14.

SCHIP
Lawmakers are still working on another compromise deal that would secure a veto-proof margin in Congress.  If they can’t come to an agreement on a deal, Congress will have to pass another continuing resolution for SCHIP when members return from Thanksgiving recess in December.