Alexandria, VA – The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) has announced Blake Warner as the 2026 recipient of the AADOCR National Student Research Group (NSRG) Mentor Award. Warner, from the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 55th Annual Meeting of the AADOCR, which was held in conjunction with the 104th General Session of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) and the 50th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research on March 25-28, 2026 in San Diego, CA.
Warner received his B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of Miami in Oxford, OH, and his M.P.H., Ph.D., and D.D.S. at The Ohio State University. He subsequently completed a three-year hospital-based clinical residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He earned his Fellowship in the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and his Board Certification by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in 2017. He then completed a post-doctoral Clinical Research Fellowship at NIDCR focused on basic and clinical investigations in Sjögren’s disease and radiation-induced xerostomia.
In 2018, Warner was appointed acting chief of the Sjögren’s disease Clinic and in August of 2019 was appointed Chief of the Salivary Disorders Unit and the Sjögren’s disease Clinic. He leads an integrated multi-specialty clinic and aligned research laboratory focused on deep characterization of disorders affecting the salivary glands, including autoimmune diseases and iatrogenic salivary damage by oncologic therapies.
Specifically, his lab interrogates the clinical phenotype, genetics, and immunopathology of salivary dysfunction states, including Sjogren’s disease and immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced (ICI) sicca to inform the clinical testing novel therapeutics to improve health outcomes.
The AADOCR National Student Research Group initiated the NSRG Mentor Award in 1997 to provide national recognition for outstanding faculty mentors. The recipient of the NSRG Mentor Award will receive a plaque and will be the guest speaker at the annual SRG Faculty Advisors’/SRG Presidents' event during the AADOCR Annual Meeting.
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research.
