| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
Discovering the Future with a SmileDental School, University of Texas Health Science Center, MC 7888, 7708 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78284-7888; macdougall{at}uthscsa.edu "Discovery" is a uniting force for each of us as members of the AADR, as well as the IADR. Discovery is defined for each of us in very unique, personal ways. For the student, it may be the discovery of just how much anxiety is associated with your first oral or poster presentation at a general meeting. Don’t worry, we all felt the same way our first time. To the graduate student or faculty member, it can be the thrill of a novel discovery seen for the first time, knowing that it will have a lasting impact on the scientific literature. Each of these examples demonstrates the deep emotion that underscores the gaining of new knowledge or insight for the first time. This emotion is what defines the passion we all feel for what we do on a daily basis. The mission of the AADR is to advance research and increase knowledge toward the improvement of oral health, to support and represent the oral health research community, and to facilitate communication and application of research findings. As an Association, we represent some 4,300 diverse individuals, ranging from dental and dental hygiene students, to graduate students, residents, and clinicians and scientists at all career levels, who have a shared, common interest or passion for dental, oral, and craniofacial research. As members, each of us has different individual talents and expertise, and it is truly how we apply these talents toward attaining our common vision that defines the achievements of the AADR—for extraordinary people achieve extraordinary things. Our membership is truly our most valuable asset. Yet, we as an organization are ‘discovering’ our greatest challenge for the future: to reverse a two-year trend toward declining membership growth. The AADR individual membership growth rate for 2004 decreased by 6.4%, while a retention rate of 73% was maintained. Our future as an organization will be determined by what we do today to correct this alarming trend. Our future will not just happen: Through our actions, we will define it. Whenever diverse people are brought together to interact in a positive, productive manner, it leads to exciting results. The AADR is no exception. The AADR leadership has strengthened our partnerships with other dental organizations, industrial corporations, associations, and institutions such as the ADEA, the ADA, and the NIDCR, to provide increased dental research opportunities and collaborations, while broadening the public’s awareness of oral health issues and dental research innovations. AADR and ADEA, through the leadership of their respective Presidents, Drs. Dom DePaola and Frank Catalanotto, have just approved the creation of a National Oral Health Advocacy Committee (NOHAC), merging the individual organizational advocacy committees into one common voice. This voice will promote policies and programs to improve our nation’s oral health; advance dental and craniofacial research and education; reduce oral health disparities; and increase access to dental care. The goal of NOHAC is to make oral health a national priority. The AADR has expanded, and will continue to expand, its partnership with the NIDCR. The NIDCR provides the foundation for Federal funding of dental, oral and craniofacial research, as well as critical student and faculty training programs. Many of us are able to fulfill our passion for research based on support from the NIDCR. The AADR must continue to develop greater communication with and advocacy for the NIDCR to ensure the continued Federal funding of dental, oral, and craniofacial research, as well as professional development. Since the doubling of the NIH budget has ended, and our national deficit has grown, it is now even more critical for us to pressure our legislative branches of government, individually and through the new NOHAC, to increase Federal funding, stressing the vital importance and role of oral health research. Furthermore, the AADR must continue to work with other academic and professional groups to increase our legislative leaders’ awareness of dental academic career shortages and diversity issues, and the opportunities the NIDCR provides to students who discover their passion for research and/or teaching. The NIH, as well as the NIDCR, has focused on the importance of translational and clinical research—the transferring of research findings from the laboratory bench to the dental chairside. This correlation of basic science research with clinical treatment will require inter- and intra-disciplinary research partnerships with academic and industrial partners. Finally, to increase public awareness of oral health issues and the accomplishments of dental, oral, and craniofacial researchers, the AADR must form viable partnerships with the media. We must increase the general public awareness of critical oral health issues and the role of the dental research community in solving these health issues. Through public awareness will come new public appreciation of and advocacy for oral, dental, and craniofacial research, strengthening future funding potential at the Federal level. I first joined the AADR as a student. Over my many years of membership, I have developed national and international networks of fellow researchers who serve as consultants and collaborators for my research, as well as mentors. From these relationships have grown true friendships that would not have been possible without the direct interactions at our annual meetings. Through these relationships, I have discovered the power of mentorship and its importance to students and faculty at all levels. I strongly believe that each of us has an obligation to give back to others what we ourselves have had the fortune of receiving through past and present mentorship. The AADR will continue to expand its role in providing professional mentorship on a national level through its multi-faceted partnerships. But, just as important, the AADR will continue its mentorship of the general public in the importance and significant contributions of our dental, oral, and craniofacial research community. It has been an honor to be elected to the AADR Board, and it will be a privilege to serve the AADR membership as your President over the next year. I challenge each and every one in the audience to return to your own school and recruit at least one new member for the AADR, while educating your school’s administration on the importance of the AADR for faculty development, mentorship, and research collaboration. I hope, with your help, to contribute to the growth of our organization through new membership. Please, join me in discovering the future of the AADR—of course, with a smile.
Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 84, No. 7,
582-583 (2005)
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
 |
|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
