Members of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) have elected Rena N. D’Souza, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA, as the next IADR vice president. Her term will commence at the conclusion of the 94th IADR General Session in Seoul, South Korea, June 22-25, 2016. After serving as vice president, D’Souza will stay on the IADR Board of Directors for three consecutive terms as president elect, president and immediate past president.
D’Souza is the associate vice provost for research at the University of Utah. There, she is also a professor of dental sciences, neurobiology & anatomy, and pathology. She served as director of research in the Department of Orthodontics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSCH) School of Dentistry, USA; and as chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, USA.
She earned a B.D.S. from Government Dental College - University of Bombay, India; a general practice residency certificate in oral surgery, operative dentistry and periodontics from Government Dental College and Hospital, University of Bombay, India; an M.S. in biomedical sciences and a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UTHSCH; and a D.D.S. from the Dental Branch, UTHSCH.
D’Souza is a past president of the American Association for Dental Research (2012-2013) and has been an active IADR member since 1984. Her extensive leadership and service to IADR include being president and councillor of the IADR Pulp Biology and Regeneration Group, and director of the IADR Craniofacial Biology Group. She has also been a member of the Publications Committee and the Journal of Dental Research Editorial Board, and has been an AADR representative on the IADR Council.
As a leader in the field, D’Souza has led an active research program for more than 25 years on tooth development and genetics, matrix biology and tissue regeneration. She has also directed two comprehensive NIH institutional research training and development programs and served on several grant review panels. Among the honors and awards that recognize D’Souza’s efforts in research, student advocacy, mentoring and faculty development are the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Pulp Biology Research, an IADR Innovation in Oral Care Award, the Presidential Award for Research Excellence from the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the Faculty Mentor Award from AADR’s National Student Research Group. She also served on the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council, the Physician-Scientist Workforce Working Group for NIH Director Francis Collins and as chair of its subcommittee on dentist-scientist training. D’Souza is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, director on the Friends of NIDCR Board and member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina).
D’Souza looks forward to being part of the IADR Board as it furthers its Mission to advance research and increase knowledge for the improvement of oral health worldwide; to support and represent the oral health research community; and to facilitate the communication and application of research findings.