Three School of Dentistry Faculty Receive International Research Awards

Three faculty members at the UNC School of Dentistry received awards at the 77th Session of International Association for Dental Research in Vancouver, BC March 10, 1999. Dr. Steven Offenbacher, professor of periodontology and director of the Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases at UNC School of Dentistry received the 1999 Basic Research in Periodontal Disease. His major research interests include biochemical mediators of inflammations, the development and use of animal periodontal infection models, and cellular response to bacterial endotoxin and wound healing. Offenbacher and his colleague at UNC Dr. James D. Beck, have identified associations between periodontal diseases and systemic conditions. Beck, Kenan professor in the dental ecology department, received the Geriatric Oral Research Award at the same program. He is widely known for his development of geriatric oral research, and his contributions have been substantial, covering theoretical, methodological, and clinical concerns.

Dr. Cun-Yu Wang, assistant professor in the endodontics department, received the 1999 Young Investigator Award. The award is designed to stimulate basic research in all dental disciplines and awarded to investigators who have not reached their 35th birthday. Wang has helped delineate the major regulatory mechanisms of resistance in cancer cells to suicide signals induced by the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) as well as by chemotherapeutic agents. He has also made seminal contributions to understanding the basic signal transduction pathways that play a role in the induction of apoptosis.

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