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NIDCR 60th Anniversary
The good work done over the years at NIDCR seemed to typify what all were talking about at the 60th Anniversary of the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research. Organized by the Friends of NIDCR, the 60th birthday party for NIDCR was held on Monday, June 23rd in Bethesda, MD to pay tribute to the six Directors who each left their indelible imprints on defining the mission of the Institute and moving it forward towards achieving its goals. The Directors include: • Dr. H. Trendley Dean* (1948-1953) Bruce Donoff, the Friends of NIDCR President, welcomed all present, including dental school deans and assistant deans, oral health non-profit executive directors, patient advocacy representatives, corporate executives and over 50 NIDCR employees. He also noted that “The NIDR and NIDCR would always have a special place in my career development. I had a Fellowship for my first post residency year and an RO1 grant later on to study wound healing. I also served on the Oral Medicine and Biology II Study section for four years reviewing grants and was a participant in the Strategic Planning of Dr. Löe that led to oral cancer becoming a priority for the Institute in the early 1990’s.”  Marie Nylen, DDS The first presenter was Marie Nylen, DDS who, as a young dentist, came to the USA for a three month visit and stayed for a lifetime. She became the first woman to be appointed Director of an intramural program at NIH and the first woman to be elected president of the AADR and subsequently of the IADR. Click here for excerpts from her historical look at the first four directors and interesting times at NIDR (as it was known in those years). Dr. David Scott, the only surviving Director of the first four, currently resides in Florida and was unable to make the journey to accept his award. Löe Left a Formidable Legacy  Lois Cohen, NIDCR Consultant While Harald is comfortably retired and floating between a winter residence in Vero Beach, Florida and a summer residence in his native Norway, he did send a note regretting that he was unable to attend the 60th anniversary celebrations, noting “I have now reached the stage in life when long memory is predominant; and as I contemplate my six decades of involvement in dental research, education and practice, I think of my time in the Institute as especially interesting, important and meaningful. I continue to be proud of the Institute’s past and current scientific endeavors and its impact on oral health improvements around the world. And I extend to each and all of the Friends and its membership of the NIDCR my sincere congratulations.” It was Harald Löe who doubled the NIDCR budget from almost $80 million to almost $170 million. He expanded the horizons from caries research to periodontal diseases and other soft tissue conditions. He supported and reported on a national epidemiological survey when sister agency the National Center for Health Statistics could not study the oral health of children nor older Americans. He conceived and led the effort for the Regional Centers for Minority Oral Health, the precursor to the Centers to Reduce Oral health Disparities. He led the effort to establish the Dentist Scientist Award program and internationalized NIDCR’s research agenda…as the NIDR became the WHO Collaborating Center for Dental Research and Training. He created, with the help of a Congressional directive, 30 centers for oral health research around the country.Under his leadership, a number of consensus and technology assessment conferences were held and a new series began, Scientific Frontiers in Clinical Dentistry was launched with Continuing Education credits for clini- cians. He also convened the first Dental Dean’s meeting on capacity-building for research and education and he facilitated the creation of the National Oral health Clearinghouse in 1993---focused on the needs of the general public. The legacy of NIDCR’s 5th director, Harald Löe, was formidable.  Bruce Donoff surprised current Director Larry Tabak with a framed letter from President George W. Bush on White House letterhead. The President’s comments included:
- George W. Bush
Slavkin – An Enthusiastic, Creative Leader Speaking on behalf of former interim Director Dushanka Kleinman, Lois Cohen introduced Dr. Hal Slavkin, noting that his tenure began and ended with the whirlwind of activities, taking the Institute into a multitude of new initiatives and partnerships. “His leadership was infectious. His enthusiasm and creativity were boundless.”  Dr. Hal Slavkin, Past NIDCR Director During Hal’s tenure, the name of the Institute was formally changed from NIDR to NIDCR, finally reflecting the full scope of existing research activities and reflecting the intent of the originating 1948 legislation that formed the Institute. The 50-year mark was passed under his leadership, also marking the creation of the Friends of the NIDCR in 1998, led by our first president, D. Walter Cohen. The activities launched during Hal’s tenure demonstrated his commitment to addressing the full mission of NIDR/NIDCR and NIH, including more developmental biology and genetics; tissue engineering; oral aspects of HIV/AIDS research; building a consortium at NIH for pain research; supporting dental amalgam clinical trials; oral health promotion research; morphing the Regional Centers for Minority Oral Health into the Centers for Research to Reduce Oral Health Disparities; and the state-wide models for early detection and prevention of oral cancer; and very importantly, he enabled the development of the first Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health by providing support for that milestone effort. Extending partnerships with patient advocates, building partnerships with the FDA, industry and others involved in the products of research investments was an era of out-reach that included the use of the internet, and growing our budget to $269 million in just five years time. The legacy of Hal Slavkin, the NIDCR sixth director, similarly provided building blocks for the current leader, Dr. Larry Tabak.  Keynote speaker Dr. Alan Leshner Keynote Leshner Has an Insight to Science & NIH  Jane E. M. Steffensen, University of Texas Health Science Center, Norman Braveman, NIDCR, Valerie Orlando, University of Colorado.  Therese Long, ED of OSAP, Lois Cohen, NIDCR Consultant and Chris Fox, ED of AADR.  Emily Madavo, representing U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen, Jr. (D-MD) presents a citation to Larry Tabak for NIDCR.  Mary Kaye Richter ED of National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias, Susan Johnson and Pat Sheridan, both of NIDCR.  Peter Anas, FNIDCR Executive Director and Gary Price FNIDCR Board Member and ED of Dental Trade Alliance.  Isabel Garcia, NIDCR Deputy Director and Marie Nylen. Kathy Hammitt FNIDCR Treasurer and Sjogrens Syndrome, Dr. Van Thompson, NYU College of Dentistry, Peter Polverini, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Dr. Dianne Rekow, NYU College of Dentistry and D. Walter Cohen, FNIDCR Chair Emeritus and Chancellor Emeritus Drexel University. NIDCR 60th Anniversary Party Sponsors
Silver Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine Forsyth Institute Harvard School of Dental Medicine Temple University UNC Chapel Hill School of Dentistry University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine University of Southern California School of Dentistry Bronze
Baylor College of Dentistry
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