Alexandria, VA, USA – The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) has announced Monika Arora as the 2026 recipient of the IADR Honorary Membership. Arora, from the Public Health Foundation of India, 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.
Arora is currently the Principal Investigator of the Delhi site for an Implementation Research Project on the National Health Research Priority, funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on promoting daily tooth brushing and oral health education among primary school children. She was invited as guest speaker at the main scientific program of the 27th Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry National Conference in December 2023, on “Integrating Oral Health Promotion with NCD Prevention and Control.” She has conducted several research and intervention projects on tobacco cessation to prevent and control oral cancer among tobacco users in India and the Southeast Asia region. Research outcomes from these research studies have informed the National Health Program in India.
Arora led policy research under the “Addressing Smokeless Tobacco and Building Research Capacity in South Asia” project funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research and led by the University of York, which involved a systematic review of policies relevant to smokeless tobacco and the impact of its use. Arora is currently leading a nutrition consortium in India, “Let’s Fix Our Food,” funded by UNICEF-India in partnership with ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition and other stakeholders working on nutrition programmes in India. This initiative aims to study the obesogenic food environment in India and focuses on recommending policy and program initiatives to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods, including caries promoting foods that are high in free sugars.
IADR Honorary Membership is granted by the five most recent living IADR past presidents who are no longer serving on the Board, and given to a person who has made significant contributions to and/or supports dental, oral, and craniofacial research.
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.
