Press Releases

Martha J. Somerman, Mina Mina, and Peter Polverini Named 2022 Recipients of AADOCR Presidential Citation

Alexandria, VA – The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) announced Martha J. Somerman, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, Mina Mina, University of Connecticut, Farmington, and Peter Polverini, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as the 2022 recipients of the AADOCR Presidential Citation. They were recognized during the AADOCR President’s Induction Ceremony of the hybrid 51st Annual Meeting of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 46th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), on March 25, 2022.

  • Martha Somerman was the Director, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2011 to 2019 then served as a senior advisor for NIDCR until her retirement in 2021. In addition, she was the Principal Investigator for the Laboratory of Oral Connective Tissue Biology, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIH, from 2011 to 2021. She served as the 30th AADOCR President (2001-02) and has received the IADR Straumann Award in Regenerative Periodontal Medicine, the 2005 IADR Distinguished Scientist Award for Research in Oral Biology Award, the 2018 IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Basic Research in Biological Mineralization, and the 2021 AADOCR Jack Hein Public Service Award. 
  • Mina Mina is a Professor and Chair of pediatric dentistry in the Department of Craniofacial Sciences, the Director of the D.M.D./Ph.D. program, and Co-Director of the Skeletal, Craniofacial and Oral Biology training grant at the University of Connecticut, Farmington. She served as President of the IADR Mineralized Tissue Group (2004-05) and the Student Training and Research (STAR) Network (2014-16), as Secretary and Treasurer of the IADR Women in Science Network, and as a member of the JDR Editorial Board (2002-05; 2019-21). In 2006 she won the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award for Craniofacial Biology Research.
  • Peter Polverini is the Jonathan Taft Distinguished University Professor of Dentistry and Dean Emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, and a professor of pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Polverini served as the 42nd AADOCR president (2013-14). In 2006 he won the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Oral Medicine & Pathology Research.

The AADOCR Presidential Citation acknowledges an AADOCR member or members, including individual members, Corporate and Institutional Section members, who by the assessment of the AADOCR President, have made significant contributions to the Association over a period of time; shown dedication to the Association; and have helped to further the mission of the AADOCR through their service and commitment.

View a PDF for this press release online.

 

About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with over 3,000 members in the United States with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR is the largest division of the International Association for Dental Research which has over 10,000 members. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.