NIH鈥檚 Dr. Larry Tabak Shares Insight, Advice with EIOH Faculty and Residents
“Learning about his own journey from dental school to becoming a prominent researcher was particularly inspiring,” Dr. Maria Panagiota Kouskouki (Ortho ’26) said.
Dr. Kouskouki was one of several Eastman Institute for Oral Health residents and young faculty who met recently with Lawrence A. Tabak, DDS, PhD, the principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health.
“The insights he shared were invaluable. He encouraged me to set high goals in both academia and research, emphasizing the importance of balancing clinical practice with academic involvement,” she added.
Dr. Tabak was the first dentist-scientist to serve as the University of Rochester’s senior associate dean for research. He was the director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and the first dentist to lead the NIH as interim director in 2020. Before being honored with the George Eastman Medal, he spent the day meeting with students, faculty, and participating in a brief science symposium.
“With his very unique career experience and background, he is definitely an individual to look up to,” said EIOH Associate Professor Dimitrios Michelogiannakis, DDS (Ortho ‘17, MS ‘17). “I truly appreciated Dr. Tabak’s advice regarding my endeavors to bridge our Orthodontics clinical research with basic sciences and to develop impactful projects that will improve care.”
For EIOH Assistant Professor Elli Anna Kotsailidi, DDS (Perio ‘19, MS ‘20), the insight Dr. Tabak gave her about so the opportunities NIH has to offer for early-career clinician-scientists was appreciated.
“It was an invaluable opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with Dr. Tabak and get his advice on career development,” she said.
“He also stressed how being a part of a residency program like Eastman Institute for Oral Health is significant to build a strong foundation for a future career as a clinician-scientist," Dr. Kouskouki said.
“It’s widely known that Larry’s impact goes far beyond dentistry and oral health. Yet, as dentists, he inspires us,” said Eli Eliav, DMD, PhD, director of EIOH. “He is a role model whose research and leadership have broken through boundaries, setting an important and valuable example for all researchers.”
“Say it loudly, say it proudly,” Tabak told them. “You are a clinician scientist. Be ready to collaborate with your physician and nurse and psychology colleagues on an equal footing.
“I absolutely know if you can navigate a dental school curriculum, you can pretty much do anything,” he said. “We have to fight that
fight, so that the next generation of investigators, some of whom may be seated in this room, have a better opportunity. And the more all of you do that, the stronger the profession of dentistry is going to become.”
“Throughout his entire career, Larry Tabak has been a champion of education, ethics and research integrity, and has consistently demonstrated his commitment to health equity,” said Dr. Eliav, who, as a junior faculty in Israel in 1998, first met Dr. Tabak. “He was very supportive, encouraging and helpful back then as he is today.”
Dr. Tabak had similar sessions with UR’s School of Medicine and Dentistry junior faculty, medical, PhD and graduate students.
He was also part of a science symposium, where he was one of three scientists who presented their work. University of Buffalo Professor Stefan Ruhl, DDS, PhD, who referred to Dr. Tabak as his longtime role model, presented Evolutionary Footprints in the Saliva Proteiome. Tom Diekwisch, DMD, PhD, PhD, chair, EIOH Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, presented Chromatin, Histone Modifications and Clinical Correlations after Dr. Tabak’s presentation, The Beginnings of Mucin-glycoprotein Biosynthesis.
Many of Dr. Tabak’s colleagues when he was at the University of Rochester were in attendance and were able to reconnect and share memories during his day-long visit.
When he served as a professor of dentistry, biochemistry and biophysics at the UR’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, Dr. Tabak bolstered the prominence of oral biology research programs and provided the foundation for today’s Eastman Institute for Oral Health. He was named director of the Center for Oral Biology, now the Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences. Dr. Tabak recruited leading oral biologists and dental scientists, resulting in tremendous growth throughout the 麻豆视频research enterprise.
He strengthened graduate training programs and created and implemented a mandatory ethics course, emphasizing research integrity. He worked diligently to support graduate students, postdoctoral residents, and junior faculty.
Before his presentation, University President Sarah Mangelsdorf awarded Dr. Tabak with the prestigious George Eastman Medal. The honor is unique to the University of Rochester and was established to recognize leaders whose achievements and service have had a substantial impact on their fields and on their communities.
“Today we’re celebrating Eastman Institute for Oral Health,” UR President Mangelsdorf said, “part of the university that has a long history of being innovative, doing innovative dental research, and teaching excellence for advanced practitioners in dental science. The Institute draws a direct line to George Eastman, who was committed to providing dental and oral care to children and adults in Rochester.
“And we have one of the nation’s foremost dental scientists receiving an award named for one of the country’s leading advocates for dental care in one of the world’s leading institutions for world research and care,” she continued. “I believe we’ve come full circle today.”
President Mangelsdorf emphasized how fortunate it is to have such an accomplished leader champion the importance of basic and translational research at the national level. “He is exactly the kind of leader who commands great respect for our national agencies,” she said. “The world needs more Larry Tabaks.”
During his presentation, A View from NIH: The Many Challenges and Opportunities of Biomedical Research, Dr. Tabak addressed the critical need to expand research infrastructure and participation opportunities with broader communities. NIH recently launched a pilot, Communities Advancing Research Equity for Health—or CARE for Health—designed to help create data sets that are more meaningful, more robust and more diverse to better represent the United States.
Dr. Tabak also talked about NIH's efforts for level the playing field for research funding, and improving access to analytical tools, as well as workforce education and training for improved engagement and contributions to the overall population research.
"The typical model is that basic research begets translational research, begets clinical research, begets better care," he stated. "But it's not a linear activity. It's a circle. And it's a virtuous circle. Some of the very best ideas for basic science projects come from looking at a patient by a very astute clinician. There's no way of knowing where the next discovery, where the next amazing breakthrough is going to come from."
Dr. Tabak has been at the forefront of oral biology research since his student days, steadfast in his mission to find innovative and effective ways of conducting biomedical research that translates into cures. After receiving his undergraduate degree from City College of New York, Dr. Tabak entered Columbia's School of Dental and Oral Surgery in 1973, laboratories of Irwin He earned his dental degree in 1977, and a PhD and a certificate in endodontics from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
He spoke enthusiastically about the many positive steps new NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli, MD, has taken, including establishing essential guiding principles.
“The first guiding principle of the NIH is that our work is not finished when we deliver scientific discoveries,” he said. “Our work is finished when all people are living long and healthy lives.”
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