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Challenges and OpportunitiesUniversity of Washington, Seattle, USA; paulrob{at}u.washington.edu
Key Words: IADR • dental research • oral health You honor me, and I am most grateful. The International Association for Dental Research has been a major force in my professional life for more than three decades. I will briefly discuss three major challenges and opportunities that affect our ability to maintain and improve these IADR membership benefits for future dental scientists: (1) meetings, (2) publications and information transfer, and (3) members and mentorship. Our meetings clearly present a primary opportunity for scientific exchange among our members as well as for the transfer of knowledge to educators, clinicians, other scientific societies, and the public. At the same time, they provide an environment to attract and mentor a new generation of teachers and investigators. Our meetings are also a critical source of income for the organization, in its broadest context. Major challenges to the continued success of our meetings include format and venue. Over the years, we have made numerous changes in the meeting format. We have attracted eminent scientists as Plenary Session Speakers. Presentations by Keynote Speakers selected by the Scientific Groups were expanded, and we have devoted additional time to symposia. The oral presentations have been re-organized. Electronic submission of abstracts has been a major improvement, not only for the submission process, but also for peer review and the scheduling of both oral and poster sessions. Fundamentally, however, our meeting format has remained relatively constant, while competition for meeting time by our members has expanded. We need to evaluate those meeting aspects that are valued by our members while exploring new approaches to enhance the excitement of scientific discovery through IADR. Choice of meeting location is also a critical challenge. We have become a truly international association. Investigators presenting at this meeting represent more than 62 countries. We have a commitment to serve all regions of the world. At the same time, we must carefully consider choices of venue appeal, geographic location, travel convenience, and expense to both members and the organization. Evaluation and planning for future General Sessions will be a major priority for the Board in the coming year. Our publications meet our current mission to increase knowledge about oral health research. Merging the well-respected Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine into the highly rated Journal of Dental Research, and making these publications available in both print and electronic formats, is a major opportunity. It provides a more comprehensive view of dental science attractive to a wider segment of our membership and allows us to deliver that information rapidly to our worldwide audience. The explosion of information technology also provides other opportunities to reach all our members and the public they serve. The IADR is the major owner of the Journal. Like our meetings, publications are an important part of our fiscal stability, and the challenges we face are no less critical. We live in a time of rapidly expanding demand for open electronic access to all information, sponsored by a broad coalition of university, government, and private agencies. While we may all support the concept in principle, the questions of growth rate in demand for electronic journals and fiscal support for the open access enterprise remain elusive. A recurring issue at our recent meetings is the absence of new teachers and investigators entering international dental academics, and the diminishing number of young people who choose careers in dental education and research. IADR is actively exploring opportunities that will encourage greater student exposure to the joy of innovation and research. The challenge is that such programs will surely fail if there are no applicants. The IADR must increase the attraction for a career in dental research by serving as its major advocate worldwide. Most importantly, we must continue to act as mentors. I commend the members of the Board, particularly Steve Challacombe, John Clarkson, Taki Kuroda, Ed Yen, Chris Fox, and Skip Collins. They have served you this year with a rare combination of dedication, wisdom, integrity, and decency. Despite tragic world events, rapidly changing meeting locations, and difficult economic conditions, this Board has continued our mission to advance research and increase knowledge for the improvement of oral health, and at same time, has kept us fiscally stable. I thank my wife Marj, whose love sustains me, and makes all things possible. And I am grateful to all of you, who have allowed me to serve the IADR in times of challenge and opportunity.
Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 83, No. 5,
364 (2004)
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