Reflecting its reputation as a global nexus for evidence-based clinical practice in implant dentistry, the Academy of Osseointegration (AO) has made a cumulative investment of $600,000 to help investigators around the globe pursue novel research to maintain and improve oral health and quality of life.
AO has provided these funds through the International Association for Dental Research (IADR)/ Academy of Osseointegration Innovation in Implant Sciences Award, which provides a $75,000 grant to the research institution of the annual recipient.
According to Dr. Clark Stanford, AO vice president, Dean and Distinguished Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, who serves on the award’s joint review committee comprising IADR and AO members, an extraordinary representation of international applications and a very impressive range of research topics have been submitted in the eight years in which AO has exclusively funded this prestigious award.
This year was no exception, as Dr. Daniela Mendonça, clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, was the 2018 recipient of the award for her research entitled “Effect of Nanotopography on Cell Population and Differentiation in Osteoporosis in vivo.”
Dr. Daniela Mendonça
“I am very excited and honoured about receiving such a prestigious award. We hope to elucidate the role of cell population in implant/cell interactions in osteoporosis. Our results can lead to the development of novel implant surfaces with a more direct effect on bone cells,” said Dr. Mendonça.
According to Dr. Mendonça, mechanisms that control osseointegration are not completely understood and include a diverse cell population that interacts at the implant surface; but very little is known about how these cells interact. “We propose to investigate how titanium topography affects the osteogenic potential of mesenchymal stem cells in an osteoporotic mouse model in vivo, by using single-cell genomic approach to identify cluster of cells. We hypothesise that surface topography can improve osseointegration in cases of osteoporosis.”
Including Dr. Mendonça, eight IADR/AO research grants have been awarded:
• Min Lee, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (2011 recipient)
• Jake Jinkun Chen, DMD, MDS, PhD, Tufts University, Boston, MA (2012)
• Owen Addison, BDS, PhD, University of Birmingham, England, UK (2013)
• Rene Olivares-Navarrete, DDS, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (2014)
• Gustavo Mendonça, DDS, MS, PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (2015)
• Alireza Moshaverinia, DDS, MS, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (2016)
• Lyndon Cooper, DDS, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL (2017)
• Daniela Mendonça, DDS, MS, PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (2018)
“IADR is pleased that the Academy of Osseointegration is sponsoring this award on its eighth year,” said Prof. Angus Walls, IADR President. “IADR thanks the Academy of Osseointegration for their continued support which allows dental, oral and craniofacial researchers to create innovative discoveries that can be applied in clinical practice and be used to enhance oral health and quality of life.”
Another important development in the AO-IADR relationship this year was the inaugural AO/IADR Symposium on Osseointegration, held during the 2018 IADR General Session in London. AO President, Dr. James Taylor, was on site to introduce and moderate this inaugural Symposium, which featured AO Member-Speakers Drs. Petra Gierthmühlen (University of Düsseldorf), Hugo De Bruyn (Ghent University) and Nikos Donos (Queen Mary University of London).
On site at the 2018 IADR General Session in London were (from left to right): Drs. Chris Fox, IADR executive director, Angus Walls, IADR president; and James C. Taylor, AO president.
“This was an outstanding session, and spoke to both the established and the evolving synergies of AO and IADR in creating and disseminating knowledge that shapes the present and future of global implant dentistry for the benefit of our patients worldwide,” said Dr. Taylor.
