Members of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and International Association for Dental Research (IADR) have elected three new leaders.
Jack Ferracane, PhD, of the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, will serve as the next AADR vice president. His term will commence at the conclusion of the AADR annual meeting, occurring March 19-22, 2014, in Charlotte, NC.
Ferracane is currently a professor and the chair of the department of restorative dentistry and division director of biomaterials and biomechanics at OHSU, where he has been a faculty member since 1989. He is on the AADR Annual Session Committee and participated in the organization of the 2013 AADR annual meeting in Seattle. He has served in numerous leadership roles within the organization, including president of the AADR Dental Materials Group and secretary and president of the IADR Dental Materials Group.
AADR members also elected Jerry (Jian) Feng, MD, PhD, a professor at Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University in Dallas, as the AADR Publications Committee member-at-large. His three-year term will also commence after the AADR annual meeting.
Dr. Feng's expertise and background include bone and tooth research in the mineralization and pulp biology fields. Feng's work was recognized with a 2005 IADR/AADR William J. Gies Award and the 2011 IADR Distinguished Scientist Award for Pulp Biology Research. Currently, Dr. Feng is the secretary of the AADR Dallas Section.
Meanwhile, members of the IADR have elected Jukka Meurman, MD, PhD, of the University of Helsinki, Helsinki University Central Hospital in Finland, to serve as the next IADR vice president. His term will commence at the conclusion of the IADR general session in Cape Town, South Africa, June 25-28.
Dr. Meurman is a professor of oral infectious diseases at the Institute of Dentistry and department of oral and maxillofacial diseases at the University of Helsinki. His research interests have been focused on oral symptoms, signs, and impact of oral infections on systemic health.
Since joining IADR in 1974, Dr. Meurman has remained active in the association and has served in multiple leadership roles. A few of those roles include being president and secretary general of the IADR Scandinavian Division, chair of the IADR Regional Development Program Committee, and an IADR Regional Board Member. Currently, he serves as the president of the IADR Pan European Region.