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Patient Care

Eastman Institute Names Director for New Clinical Research Core

Feb. 2, 2020

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Dorota Kopycka-Kedzierawski, DDS, MPH, (GenDen ’02) has been named director of Eastman Institute for Oral Health’s newly established Clinical and Translational Research Core.

Dr. Dorota KThe EIOH Clinical and Translational Research Core manages a wide variety of research projects funded by NIH, HRSA, NYS Department of Health and industry that include EIOH scientists who study different aspects of Early Childhood Caries (severe tooth decay among preschool children), how to improve oral health outcomes in daily dental practices, dental implant outcomes, school based dental sealants, and many others, with several grants currently under review.

The CTRC facilitates EIOH resident and faculty research projects by assisting with the process of applying for government and commercial grants and Research Subjects Review Board (RSRB) guidelines and submission.

Dr. Kopycka-Kedzierawski, EIOH professor and deputy director of the Northeast Region, National Dental Practice-Based Research Network, DPBRN, is widely published and has been actively involved in teaching and mentoring for 20 years. She is the principal investigator of the NIH-funded project, Integrating Oral Biology and Behavioral and Social Mechanism for ECC Onset.

In addition to her many research honors, Dr. Kopycka-Kedzierawski’s leadership and integral role in Eastman Institute’s teledentistry initiatives led to features in the American Dental Association News, and the American Association of Dental Research’s Strides in Science. She is also an invited contributor to the 2020 Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health.

“My goal is to help strengthen and expand our portfolio through enhanced collaborations within the medical center, develop clinical research training curriculum, as well as encourage our faculty and residents to participate as potentially new investigators and mentors,” said Dr. Kopycka-Kedzierawski, who will manage the Core’s team of 10 faculty and staff members, located in the Saunders Building near the Clinical and Translational Science Institute

The University of Rochester /Eastman Institute for Oral Health has recently been ranked as the ninth top funded institution by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of National Institutes of Health. Throughout its history, Eastman has consistently ranked in the top 10 NIDCR-funded institutions. The ranking is especially significant because the University of Rochester’s dentistry and oral biology research arm--through Eastman Institute for Oral Health--is much smaller compared to the other high-ranking institutions.

Eastman Institute for Oral Health basic (Center for Oral Biology), clinical and translational research programs encompass a wide variety of areas, including oral infectious diseases, dental caries, salivary diagnosis and therapy, craniofacial development, orofacial pain, periodontal diagnosis and therapy, implants, materials, lasers, nerve injury and pain modulation, and practice based research, among others.