The Friends of National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry will join together to hold a Town Hall forum to highlight the benefits that oral health research brings to the community. The Town Hall, titled “Bringing Oral Health Research Home,” will be part of an all-day event to be held Friday, September 20, 2013, at the dental school.
The UNC Craniofacial Center, which turns 50 this year, will host a two-pronged event to celebrate how the center has provided outstanding care over the years, often thanks to research successes and translational science. “We are taking the message of ‘oral health research matters’ to where it matters most—our hometowns,” said FNIDCR President Dr. Christian Stohler, who is also dean of the Maryland Dental School, site of the Friends’ first Town Hall.
“Oral health research impacts our lives in many beneficial ways. It has led to breakthroughs in the way we diagnose diseases ranging from heart attacks to oral cancer, and research is an economic driver that creates and sustains jobs in the community,” says Dr. Jane Weintraub, Dean of the UNC School of Dentistry.
The morning is dedicated to the UNC Craniofacial Center and its research, “Clinical Aspects of Care.” In the afternoon, the center will host the Friends of the NIDCR “Bringing Oral Health Research Home” where there will be two tracks of presentations; in each track, Scientific American Style, 15 minutes each – one craniofacial-focused, one of other oral health research topics all by renowned scientists – for event attendees. CE credit will be provided for the afternoon presentations.
In the evening, participants can register to attend a dinner celebration honoring the center’s 50 years which will feature keynote remarks from Dr. Donald W. Warren, a pioneer of the Center, and select center patient families sharing their stories. Center family patients, industry colleagues, alumni, community dental practitioners, faculty from UNC and elsewhere, and legislators are all invited to attend.
