The annual AADOCR symposium, hosted by the University of the Pacific, Dugoni School of Dentistry, brings together top dental researchers from the West Coast. Two Keynote speakers from Stanford University, including the Dean of Research and the Director of Head and Neck Cancer Research will lecture on the Stanford Center for Clinical & Translational Research and Education and the opportunities it affords and a lecture on Insights into Non-Smoking Related Oral Cancer. Principal investigators from the University of the Pacific and UCSF will lecture on the clinical research programs being set up at their respective Dental Schools as part of the NIDCR PRIMED award. The symposium emphasizes collaboration, offering information on how to get involved with clinical research and showcasing resources from participating universities. Attendees can participate in a poster presentation, providing a platform for networking and knowledge exchange. Overall, the symposium aims to drive collaboration in regional dental research for students, residents, and faculty.

You Will Learn:

Who Should Attend:

This event is designed for students, residents, faculty, alumni and collaborators.

CEU: Units - 1.5

This activity is designated for 1.5 units of continuing education credit.

Ruth O'Hara, PhD is the Senior Associate Dean for Research in the Stanford University School of Medicine, and the Lowell W. and Josephine Q. Berry Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine. She also serves as the Principal Investigator of Stanford’s NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA).  Dr. O’Hara leads an extensive research program on sleep, brain function and resilience in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. O’Hara also focuses on methodological considerations for clinical research across the lifespan. In her administrative roles, Dr. O’Hara brings together faculty from diverse research areas and systems across universities to collaborate on a range of interdisciplinary initiatives.  Dr. O’Hara serves as a Multiple Principal Investigator on the NIH PRIMED Grant between the Stanford CTSA and the University of the Pacific (UoP).  

John Sunwoo, MD is the Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a head and neck surgeon-scientist in the Department of Otolaryngology and leads research programs focused on cancer immunology. Dr. Sunwoo graduated from Brown University, majoring in Biochemistry, and received his MD from Washington University in St. Louis. Following medical school, he completed his residency in otolaryngology at Washington University and spent two years at the National Institutes of Health as a clinical research fellow. Following his clinical training, John completed a five-year postdoctoral research fellowship at Washington University, where he studied the development and differentiation of natural killer (NK) cells. Dr. Sunwoo joined Stanford in 2008 and currently serves as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (of the University Tenure Line) in the School of Medicine; Chief of the Division of Head and Neck Surgery; Physician Leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Care Program at the Stanford Cancer Institute; and Director of Head and Neck Cancer Research in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. John is the principal investigator of an independent NIH-funded laboratory and investigates (1) how tumor heterogeneity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma determines the host immune response to malignant cells, including a resilient subpopulation of tumor-initiating cells, called cancer stem cells; and (2) how to modulate NK cells and T cells to control tumors.

Stuart Gansky, MS, DrPh is a Biostatistician, Professor, Lee Hysan Chair of Oral Epidemiology, and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Dentistry. Dr. Gansky is Director of the UCSF Center to Address Disparities in Children's Oral Health (CAN-DO) and Co-Director (PI) of the NIH-funded U24 Research Coordinating Center to Reduce Disparities in Multiple Chronic Diseases (RCC RD MCD). Previously he was Co-Director and then Director of the NIDCR-funded Coordinating Center to Help Eliminate/Reduce Oral Health Inequalities in Children (CC-HEROIC) as part of the Oral Health Disparities in Children (OHDC) Consortium which supported 9 UH2 studies and?then?supported?4 large UH3?community-engaged prevention trials. He has 20 years of experience directing cores / coordinating centers.

David Lam, MD, DDS, PhD, FRCDC, FACS serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of the Pacific. He is also the Dr. T. Galt and Lee DeHaven Atwood Endowed Professor in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Lam specializes in the comprehensive surgical management of patients with cancer, pathology, and trigeminal nerve injury. His research and clinical programs are closely integrated, and his research addresses the challenges he faces in the clinical management of oral and maxillofacial surgery patients. He obtained his DDS with Honors from the University of Toronto and subsequently obtained a PhD in the Collaborative Program in Neuroscience and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Specialty Certificate from the same institution. He earned his MD from the University of California, Davis and completed a Postdoctoral Neuroscience Research Fellowship, as well as a Surgical Fellowship in Maxillofacial Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and a Fellow (OMFS) in the Royal College of Dentists in Canada. His funded research focuses on the diagnosis and management of pathology, nerve injury, and pain. In addition to funding on research, education and training grants, Lam has published and presented internationally, nationally and locally on a variety of topics relevant to his research and clinical interests.

Rebecca Moazzez BDS, MSc, PhD, FDSRCS, MRD is professor and chair of Department of Preventive and Restorative Dentistry, Henry Sutro Endowed chair in Restorative Dentistry, and the Director of the Center for Innovation and Translation (CIT), at the Dugoni Dental School, University of the Pacific since 2021. Prior to this, she served as Professor/Consultant in Oral Clinical Research/Prosthodontics, at King’s College London, since 1998. As the founding director of the CIT, she leads innovation and clinical research within the Dugoni School of Dentistry which can be translated into clinical practice and in turn, help people live healthy lives and foster a research culture within the clinical workforce, students, and residents at the dental school. She is MPI on the NIDCR PRIMED award which closely aligns with the goals of the CIT. Dr. Moazzez is a Prosthodontist and earned her BDS, as well as her MSc and PhD from the University of London. She also obtained the fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England for which she obtained the gold medal, followed by her specialist certification from the Royal College. Her research is in the field of Erosive Tooth Wear (ETW), Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease, and clinical research, and she is one of 16 international experts in the field of ETW. She has several publications in peer-reviewed journals and has presented her work nationally and internationally. Her research has been funded by NIHR, NIH, as well as several commercial companies. She has supervised 9 PhD projects /students and several MSc students.