Alexandria, VA, USA – The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) has announced Adrian Krainer as the 2023 recipient of IADR’s Honorary Membership. Krainer, from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, USA, was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 101st General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 9th Meeting of the Latin American Region and the 12th World Congress on Preventive Dentistry, that took place on June 21, 2023, in Bogotá, Colombia.
Krainer was the winner of the 2021 Wolf Prize in Medicine, the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the 2019 International Prize in Translational Neuroscience, and the 2019 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Co-founder and Director of Stoke Therapeutics, a Saint Giles Foundation Professor, and Deputy Director of Research of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center.
Krainer’s fundamental and applied research on RNA splicing for over three decades directly led to the invention and development of Spinraza™ (nusinersen), the first approved therapeutic that corrects a splicing defect and a life-saving drug for infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
SPINRAZA won the 2017 Prix Galien USA Award and the 2018 International Award for the Best Biotechnology Product, both of which recognize “extraordinary achievement in scientific innovation that improves the state of human health.” SPINRAZA is also the first splicing-corrective drug, the first antisense blockbuster drug, the first disease-modifying drug in neurodegeneration, and the first drug to show that pre-symptomatic treatment can prevent the onset of a neurodegenerative disease. As of 2022, more than 11,000 SMA patients worldwide were being treated with SPINRAZA.
Krainer is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors. He was awarded the 2019 Breakthrough Prize for his work developing Spinraza, which the prize committee described as “one of the first of a promising new breed of antisense therapies.”
Although his research is not directly about dentistry, any improvement in the percentage of children who survive or significantly improve their quality of life and their physicality and muscular system is highly relevant for dentistry and oral health.
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 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.