Alexandria, VA, USA – The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) has announced Donald Chi as the 2026 recipient of the IADR E.W. Borrow Memorial Award. Chi, from the University of Washington, was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 104th General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 50th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research on March 25-28, 2026 in San Diego, CA, USA.
Chi is professor of oral health sciences and holds the Chapman Endowed Chair of Oral Health at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. He is jointly appointed in the University of Washington School of Public Health, where he serves as Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Health Services. He is board-certified in Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health.
He is currently engaged in multi-disciplinary research designed to gain an understanding of why parents refuse professional topical fluoride treatments, and conducting a clinical trial examining the efficacy of a community-based intervention to reduce consumption of sugared fruit drinks among Alaska Native children. He also has demonstrated leadership in developing preventive oral health interventions for children and teens with cystic fibrosis, reducing barriers to preventive care for low income children with special health care needs, and evaluating the use of mobile health apps to improve toothbrushing and access to fluoride toothpaste.
He was a 2016-17 Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences. From 2017-20 he served as Chair of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Council on Scientific Affairs. In 2021, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry. Chi has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and is author of an upcoming text on oral health inequality among children published by Oxford University Press.
Sponsored by The Borrow Foundation, the IADR E.W. Borrow Memorial Award recognizes and stimulates research in oral health prevention for children, with a priority for caries prevention where fluoride in different formats is utilized. This is the 33rd year of the IADR E.W. Borrow Memorial Award, which consists of a plaque and a monetary award of $3,500.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.
