IADR PRESS RELEASES

May 11, 2020, Alexandria, Va., USA—The Journal of Dental Research published today the results of a study that demonstrated that community water fluoridation is not associated with increased risk of osteosarcoma. 

More than sixty percent of the U.S. population have access to community water fluoridation, considered to be one of the most important public health policies of the twentieth century due to its reduction of tooth decay at the population level. Fluoride ingestion has been suggested as a possible risk factor for osteosarcoma based on a 1990 animal study. Six of the seven subsequent case-control studies in humans reported that fluoride in drinking water was not associated with osteosarcoma.

This study assessed whether living in a fluoridated community was a risk factor for osteosarcoma by performing a secondary data analysis using data collected from two separate, but linked studies. Patients for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 were selected from U.S. hospitals using a hospital-based matched case-control study design. For both phases, cases were patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma and controls were patients diagnosed with other bone tumors or non-neoplastic conditions. 

Alexandria, Va., USA, May 6, 2020 – The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) announced Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, Columbia University, New York, USA is the 2020 recipient of the AADR Anne D. Haffajee Fellowship.

Momen-Heravi is a clinician-scientist at Columbia University Medical Center and a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her laboratory is focused on understanding the interplay between the immune system and tumors to identify actionable molecular targets for head and neck cancer and other solid tumor treatments; examining the role of extracellular vesicles/exosomes in metastasis and mediating cellular cross talk, and hacking this cross talk by genetic engineering; as well as exploring the role of innate immunity in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease and its convergence with diabetes and carcinogenesis.

Alexandria, Va., USA, May 6, 2020 – The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) announced Mary Otto, Washington, DC, USA is the 2020 recipient of AADR’s Honorary Membership.

Otto is the Association of Health Care Journalists topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America.” Her work and advocacy has helped to place oral health matters at the forefront of legislators’ minds for over a decade.

Alexandria, Va., USA, May 6, 2020 – The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) announced Ernest Newbrun as the 2020 recipient of AADR Jack Hein Public Service Award. Newbrun is professor emeritus of oral biology and periodontology within the Department of Cell and Tissue Biology at the University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Newbrun had a long and distinguished career in dental/oral research as an academic and as an advisor/consultant to various governmental agencies at the national, state and county level. His earliest involvement with public affairs dates back to 1960s and 1970s when he served as a consultant to the Section of Epidemiology at USPHS Dental Health Center, San Francisco.

Alexandria, Va., USA, May 6, 2020 – The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) announced Karren Komitas, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA is the 2020 recipient of the AADR William B. Clark Fellowship.

Komitas completed his dental degree at the First Tashkent State Medical Institute (Uzbekistan) in 2005. In 2006, he started his PhD training at the University of Connecticut Health. After obtaining his doctorate, Komitas completed his clinical residency training in periodontology and earned a master's degree at the University of Connecticut Health in 2017. He is the author of multiple publications, book chapters, and recipient of several prestigious international awards in various aspects of research, including periodontics and endodontics.