Alexandria, Va., USA – Members of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) have elected Ophir David Klein, University of California, San Francisco, USA, to serve as IADR Vice-president. His term will commence at the conclusion of the 99th General Session of IADR, which will be held in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 45th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), from July 21-24, 2021 in Boston, Mass.
Klein received his Ph.D. in Genetics and M.D. from Yale University, New Haven, Conn., USA, where he also completed his pediatric residency, and completed his clinical genetics residency and developmental biology postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. Currently Klein is a professor of orofacial sciences and pediatrics, the Larry L. Hillblom Distinguished Professor in Craniofacial Anomalies, the Charles J. Epstein Professor of Human Genetics, Chief of the Division of Medical Genetics, Chair of the Division of Craniofacial Anomalies, Medical Director of the University of California, San Francisco Craniofacial Center and Director of the Program in Craniofacial Biology at the University of California, San Francisco, USA.
As a developmental biologist, pediatrician and medical geneticist, Klein is interested in understanding developmental mechanisms in order to lay the groundwork for regenerative medicine. His clinical efforts center on patients with craniofacial anomalies, and his laboratory is interested in the mechanisms responsible for development, evolution and renewal of the craniofacial complex and the gastrointestinal tract, with a focus on epithelial cell behavior and plasticity during development and adult regeneration. Klein has spent much of the last two decades studying the rodent incisor, which grows continuously throughout the life of the animal, and which provides an excellent model for studying the evolution and function of dental stem cells. His laboratory also works toward understanding how stem cells in the intestinal epithelium enable renewal and regeneration, and more recently they have been studying progenitor cell function in the oral mucosa.
An IADR/AADR member since 2008, Klein has been involved in a number of positions, including Vice-president, President-elect, President and Immediate Past President of the IADR Craniofacial Biology Group (2013-17). He is currently an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Dental Research (2016-present) and has served on the AADR Science Information Committee (2009-12; 2016-19) and the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award Committee. Klein is also a member of the IADR Mineralized Tissue Group and the IADR Stem Cell Biology Group, and has served as an organizer and speaker at 12 IADR and AADR symposia.
International Association for Dental Research
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with over 10,000 individual members worldwide, with a Mission to drive dental, oral and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being worldwide. To learn more, visit www.iadr.org.