IADR PRESS RELEASES

Alexandria, Va., USA – Today, the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), as part of the Coalition for Health Funding (CHF), which represents more than 90 public health advocacy organizations, released a new report documenting the dire consequences of Congress’s deep cuts to public health programs in recent years. “Faces of Austerity: How Budget Cuts Hurt America’s Health” illustrates how recent outbreaks of measles, the steady drumbeat of school shootings at the hands of mentally ill gunmen, and an epidemic of heroin abuse have all been exacerbated by cuts to programs designed to address such issues of public concern. AADR’s contribution to the publication highlighting the recent austerity measures significant impact on dental, oral and craniofacial research may be found on pages 36-37 of the report.

Margherita Fontana, D.D.S., Ph.D., is a professor (tenured) in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. After receiving her dental degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), Caracas, in 1990, she worked as a research assistant at the UCV Dental Research Institute, Dental School for two years while she also worked in private practice. In 1992 she moved to the United States to pursue her research interests and in 1996 completed a four-year Ph.D. program in dental sciences at Indiana University, Indianapolis.

She has always been very involved in teaching (problem based learning, laboratory and didactic) in cariology in the D.D.S., postdoctoral and dental hygiene programs. She is currently co-director of the cariology I and II courses, and cariology discipline co-coordinator at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.