Dr. Thomas Sollecito Appointed to ADA Council on Scientific Affairs
Dr. Thomas Sollecito (D’89, GD’91), Chair and Professor of Oral Medicine at Penn Dental Medicine, has been appointed to the Council on Scientific Affairs (CSA) of the Dr. Thomas Sollecito American Dental (D’89, GD’91) Association (ADA). His appointment was effective October 2011 and he will serve a four-year term with the Council. The CSA consists of 16 members, who are selected and appointed by the ADA Board of Trustees from nominations open to all trustee districts; the current recipient of the ADA’s Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Dental Research also serves on the CSA. All members must be active, life, or retired members in good standing with the ADA. Serving the public, the dental profession, and other health professions as the primary source of timely, relevant and emerging information on the science of dentistry and promotion of oral health, the CSA provides recommendations to the ADA’s policymaking bodies on scientific issues. The Council also reviews, evaluates, and conducts studies on scientific matters. The CSA is one of the ADA’s 11 councils and meets three times a year at the ADA headquarters office in Chicago. Students Named to Matthew Cryer Honor Society
Students from the Class of 2013 have been recognized for their outstanding academic achievements as the newest inductees into the Matthew Cryer Honor Society. Membership in the Cryer Society is the highest scholastic honor conferred to Penn Dental Medicine students. The award is presented to the top 10 highestranked DMD candidates in each class at the completion of their second year (as determined by the general order of merit). (Continued on page 20)
TWO PENN DENTAL MEDICINE FACULTY RECOGNIZED FOR RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS WITH IADR DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIST AWARDS Two members of the Penn Dental Medicine faculty — Morton Amsterdam Dean Denis Kinane, BDS, PhD, and the recently appointed George Hajishengallis, DDS, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology — are being recognized for their outstanding research achievements with 2012 International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Distinguished Scientist Awards. These awards are one of the highest honors bestowed by the IADR, and will be presented as part of the opening ceremonies of the 90th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR on June 21, 2012 in Iguacu Falls, Brazil. Dean Kinane, Professor of Pathology and of Periodontics, is the recipient of the 2012 IADR Distinguished Science Award for Basic Research in Periodontal Disease. Supported by the Colgate-Palmolive Company, the award recognizes outstanding contributions to basic research in periodontal disease. Widely published in the field, Dean Kinane’s research has focused on periodontal immune and inflammatory processes, mainly addressing the causes, development, and susceptibility markers of periodontal disease. His work also examines the relationship between periodontal and other oral diseases and systemic health and diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, involving research into inflammation, immunity, microbial pathogenesis, genetics, and systemic Dr. Denis Kinane disease markers. Among his recent studies have been investigations into how genetic variance makes people more susceptible to inflammation, gingivitis, and periodontitis; the role of the metabolic enzyme GSK3 in inflammation; and the role of toll-like receptors and signaling molecules in periodontal disease etiology. Dean Kinane has been an active member of the IADR for 30 years, having served as Councilor of the IADR Periodontal Research Group from 2002–2007 and President of the Periodontal Research Group in 1988–1989. Dr. Hajishengallis, Professor in the Department of Microbiology, is the recipient of the 2012 IADR Distinguished Scientist Award for Research in Oral Biology. Sponsored by Church & Dwight Company, it recognizes outstanding research in the field of oral biology. Dr. Hajishengallis, who joined Penn Dental Medicine in March 2012, is a highly respected leader in the area of host-microbe interactions. From the host side, the main focus of his work is on complement and patternrecognition receptors, and how their respective signaling pathways cross-talk in health and disease. From the microbe side, he has focused on Porphyromonas gingivalis, which he established — in collaboration with other experts — as the first documented case of a keystone pathogen in microbiology. His interests also include the impact of aging on inflammatory Dr. George diseases. This line of research has led to the identification of Hajishengallis an age-regulated endothelial molecule (Del-1) that controls tissue inflammation, a discovery that was recently announced in Nature Immunology. His goal is to dissect basic mechanisms of inflammation and apply targeted therapeutic interventions in periodontitis. Prior to joining Penn Dental Medicine, Dr. Hajishengallis was with the University of Louisville as Professor and Distinguished Scholar, School of Dentistry, Department of Oral Health and Rehabilitation; School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Associate Director, Center for Oral Health and Systemic Disease. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Hajishengallis here at Penn Dental Medicine,” says Dean Kinane. “I had the great pleasure of working with him during my time in Louisville and know firsthand the passion and excellence he brings to his work.”
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