Administrative Team
Ana Velly DDS, MSc, PhD
Director, 2022 - Present
Dr. Velly plays an important leadership role in ensuring the sustainability and activities of the Network and its efforts to increase capacity in and provide ongoing support for oral health research in Canada.
Iona Worden-Driscoll BSc, MBA
National Network Coordinator, 2012 - Present
Iona oversees the functioning of the network's activities as well as provides a liaison between network members and stakeholders with the view to identify opportunities for increased partnership and collaboration. She manages the administration of the network's finances and communications. Iona holds a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and Statistics and a Masters of Business Administration from Dalhousie University.
Executive Committee
The EC provides leadership, support, and oversight of the Network’s development, ongoing operations and financial performance.
Ana Velly DDS, MSc, PhD
Associate Professor, McGill University, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences
Dr. Velly is an accomplished Associate Professor at McGill University's Faculty of Dentistry and the Director of Research at SMBD - Jewish General Hospital's Department of Dentistry. She is vice-chair of the NCOHR Orofacial Pain Working Group, played a crucial role in its establishment, and has extensive leadership experience, including directing the NIH NIDCR's Temporomandibular Joint Implant Registry. Dr. Velly holds a DDS from Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes (Brazil), an MSc in Neurological Science, and a PhD in Public Health with a focus on Epidemiology from Université de Montréal.
Maryam Amin DMD, MSc, PhD
Professor and Associate Chair of Research - School of Dentistry
Dr. Amin is a Professor and Associate Chair of Research, as well as the Director of the Dentistry Graduate Program at the University of Alberta's School of Dentistry in Canada. She earned her DMD degree in Iran and completed her M.Sc. and Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia (UBC). With a post-doctoral fellowship in Health Education and a certificate in "Teaching in Higher Education" from UBC, she received the American Dental Education Association/ADEA Gies Foundation Scholarship and completed the ADEA Leadership Institute's one-year certificate program.
Petros Papagerakis DDS, BSc, MSc, PhD
Full Professor, Dean
Dr. Petros Papagerakis graduated from the School of Dentistry-Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. He completed postgraduate training at the University of Paris (France) in Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Hospital Pediatric Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences (BSc), Oral Biology (MSc), and Cellular and Developmental Biology (PhD). He also completed a NIH-funded post-doctoral training in Craniofacial Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas, USA. Dr. Papagerakis served as faculty of Dentistry (primary) and Medicine (affiliated) at the 7th University of Paris, the University of Texas and the University of Michigan. He served in University, National and International Professional Committees, organized International symposiums, served in review panels for many National agencies worldwide, edited books and chapters, and published over 50 peer-reviewed research papers. Petros strongly believes in quality mentoring of students and young faculty. He is an advocate of inter-disciplinary and global collaboration both at the educational and research levels.
Laurent Bozec BSc, PhD
Full Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto
Before joining the University of Toronto in 2018, Dr. Laurent Bozec served as the Vice-Dean of Research at the University College London Eastman Dental Institute in the United Kingdom. As a biophysicist, Dr. Bozec collaborates with clinicians, including dentists, to explore collagen's structural and biomechanical properties at the nanoscale in both health and disease. His research focuses on connective tissue disorders and collagen engineering, primarily using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in his lab, The Matrix Functionalization and Phenotyping Lab (MFP-Lab or Bozec-lab).
Abbas Jessani DDS, MSc, PhD
Assistant Professor, Divisions of Dental Public Health and Restorative Dentistry, Department of Dentistry
Dr. Abbas Jessani is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the departments of Dental Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Restorative Dentistry at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University. He serves as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Curriculum Redesign and Community Service Learning at Schulich Dentistry. Dr. Jessani graduated with DDS from University of Karachi and earned his MSc and PhD in Public Health Dentistry from the UBC Faculty of Dentistry with a focus on Public Health Dentistry. A fellow of prestigious organizations including the American College of Dentists, International College of Dentists, and Pierre Fauchard Academy, Dr. Jessani holds leadership roles internationally, including as North American Director for Behavioral Epidemiology and Health Service Research Group-IADR and the Joint Clinical Research Centre, Uganda. He is also an Executive Committee member for the Canadian Association of Public Health Dentistry, and the Africa Institute at Western University.
Steering Committee
The SC provides guidance to the EC on key issues such as strategic priorities and goals, resource allocation, sub-committees, and decisions involving large expenditures.
Haider Al-Waeli DDS, MSc, PhD, FRCDC
Assistant Professor, Dental Clinical Sciences Department
Dr. Al-Waeli is a certified Periodontist, a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada and works as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Dentistry at Dalhousie University. Dr. Al-Waeli received a Ph.D from McGill University (Canada), Master in Periodontics from Dalhousie University (Canada). Dr. Al-Waeli worked as a periodontist and assistant professor in different universities around the world, in Jordan and Malaysia. Dr Al-Waeli is a member of many professional and academic association around the world such as American Academy of Periodontology, Canadian Academy of Periodontology, European Federation of Periodontology, and International Association of Dental Research.
Christophe Bedos DDS,PhD
Full Professor, McGill University
As director of the RSBO, Dr. Christophe Bedos has gained a solid experience in strategic planning, building capacity, and knowledge exchange. Dr. Bedos is also a public health researcher with an expertise in qualitative research, a methodological approach for which he has advocated for in the last 20 years. His research program has been funded by the CIHR since the beginning of his career. It focuses on person-centred care, social dentistry, and access to care for underprivileged and discriminated social groups, especially people living in poverty and people with disabilities. Christophe's work also focuses on the development of sustainable dentistry and planetary health.
Rajinder Bhullar PhD
Professor
Dr. Bhullar is an active researcher with research projects funded at various times by CIHR, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada and several other agencies. In addition, he has played a pivotal role in promoting and encouraging links between industry and academic researchers in the College of Dentistry at the University of Manitoba. The mentoring of students and faculty is an essential part of his portfolio and he is also responsible for representing the College of Dentistry at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and the University level.
Christian Caron DMSc, DDS, LLB
Full Professor
Dr. Caron’s professional training as a gerodontologist associated with a Doctoral degree in Medical Science at Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental medicine has allowed him to be fully functional to plan research, develop research protocols and lead research teams on topics related to oral health of vulnerable population such as elderly, access to care of loss of autonomy population, early screening of oral abnormality on vulnerable elderly by non-dental professional, distance oral/dental consultation using new technology for homebound or institutionalized population. The oral health of the vulnerable loss of autonomy population is known to be poor and link most frequently to their restraint capacity of performing their daily oral care. Dr. Caron does research on innovating procedures such as applications of chimiotherapeutic product that need to be developed to neutralise the causative oral biofilm. As a university professor, Dr. Caron is fully competent to train and supervise oral health student to graduates studies.
Paulette Dahlseide, DipDH, BSc, MSc, RDH (she/her)
Program Lead, Wâpanachakos Indigenous Health Program
Paulette Dahlseide, a dental hygienist of 30 years, is a proud Métis woman and citizen of the Métis Nation in Alberta. Living and working on Treaty 6 territory of the Cree, the Nakoda Sioux, the Dene, and the Saulteaux, her family names are Garneau, Lacombe, Lavallee and Thomas with extensive history and connection to the Métis homelands of the Red River and into Northeastern Alberta. She holds a Diploma in Dental Hygiene (1994), Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene (2014) and Master of Science Medical Sciences (2024) from the University of Alberta.
Reid Friesen BMSc, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C)
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
Dr. Reid Friesen is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta and is involved in training Oral Medicine graduate students, as well as undergraduate dental and dental hygiene students. He is the discipline lead for Oral Medicine and Pathology and the co-director of the Oral Medicine Graduate Program. He directs the Temporomandibular Disorders/Orofacial Pain Clinic at the School of Dentistry. Additionally, he is a fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC). His clinical practice focuses on treating Orofacial Pain/Temporomandibular Joint Disorders, Oral Mucosal Disease and Dental Sleep Medicine.
Noha A.E. Gomaa BDS, MSc, PhD
Assistant Professor, Oral Medicine
Dr. Noha Gomaa, BDS, MSc, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Dental Public Health and Oral Medicine and the Associate Director for Dentistry Research at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. She is a Scientist at the Children’s Health Research Institute in London, Ontario. Noha’s research centres around investigating the impact of socioenvironmental exposures on oral conditions and related major non-communicable chronic diseases over the life-course, while evaluating clinical and policy interventions that aim to improve these outcomes. Noha completed her PhD and fellowship in public health policy at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She currently serves on the National Advisory Working Group of the Chief Dental Officer of Canada, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) Council and the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB). Noha is an editorial board member for various dental journals including the Journal of Dental Research. She takes special interest in knowledge synthesis and mobilization and currently works with government agencies and regulatory bodies on issues of oral health care policy for marginalized populations and professionalism in dentistry.
Shauna Hachey MHS, RDH
Associate Professor
Shauna Hachey, MHS, RDH, is an Associate Professor in the School of Dental Hygiene. She is a Board Member and Treasurer of the Canadian Society for Disability and Oral Health. She is a Dalhousie Healthy Populations Institute Scholar, HPI’s Putting “Oral Health is Health” into Action flagship project co-lead and steward of HPI’s Brushing Up on Mouth Care program (brushingup.ca). Shauna’s research interests include the integration of oral health into primary, acute and long-term care and novel community-led oral health promotion. Currently, Shauna is leading a study on oral health practices in long-term care, funded by the Canadian Foundation for Dental Hygiene Research and Education, and, in partnership with The Tui’kn Partnership and Tajikeimɨk Mi’kmaq Health and Wellness, she is co-creating the Baby Smiles program (mhwns.ca/resources/babysmiles). She also leads a philanthropic fund within the Dalhousie Faculty of Dentistry, aimed at improving access to care and promoting oral health.
Hugh Kim DMD, Dip Perio, MSc, PhD, FRCD(C)
Associate Professor
As a new investigator at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Kim's nascent research group is focused on how the platelet cytoskeleton mediates the release of immune-modulating cytokines from platelets. His clinical and scientific training centres on four major disciplines: (1) inflammatory periodontal diseases; (2) cell-matrix signaling pathways; (3) host-microbe interactions; and (4) platelet secretion control systems. With this unique background, Dr. Kim's laboratory is well-positioned to conduct research on the role of platelets in inflammation, specifically with regards to periodontal disease pathogenesis and applications to diagnostics and therapeutics. This is the only laboratory of its kind in Canada, and is currently supported by a CIHR Clinician-Scientist Award (renewed for 2016-2019), a CIHR Operating Grant (2015-2020) and a recently funded CIHR Catalyst Grant in Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (2017-2018).
Hollis Lai PhD, MBA, MEd, BSc
Associate Professor
Dr. Lai is an Associate Professor and Director of Innovation and Quality Improvement of School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta. He is an expert in psychometrics and methodology. Dr. Lai’s research focuses on applying intelligent methods and data-centric solutions in education and oral health domains. He developed a method on automatic item generation that is being used by testing agencies around the world. Dr. Lai also designs methods in data science studies across different disciplines. He was PI of an NCOHR study in 2020 on applying machine learning techniques to develop a clinical decision support system for periodontal disease. Dr. Lai has contributed to over 70 publications, over 100 presentations and has over ten years of consulting experience with organizations around the world. He has served on technical groups, advisory committees, and invited speakers with professional organizations and government agencies.
Ondina Love
Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Dental Hygienists Association
Ms. Love is the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA). She has been an international leader in the health care sector for over 20 years, having managed 3 national associations and 2 research foundations. Her areas of expertise are knowledge exchange, evidence-informed decision making, and effecting policy change to improve health outcomes.
Morris Manolson PhD
Professor and Vice Dean, Research
Morris F Manolson is a Professor and Vice Dean, Research at the Faculty of Dentistry with a cross-appointment in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also the President of the Canadian Connective Tissue Society. His research, focusing on preventing excessive bone loss associated with osteoporosis, inflammatory arthritis and periodontal disease, is funded by CIHR and NSERC, and has produced three patent applications and over 60 peer-reviewed papers which have accumulated over 5000 citations. He received the "Quality of Life” award from the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research-Institute for Gender Health/Ontario Women's Health Council Senior Investigator Award, both in recognition of his work towards preserving bone health in arthritis and osteoporosis.
Kavita Mathu-Muju DMD, MPH, Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry, FRCD(C)
Associate Professor
Dr. Kavita Mathu-Muju’s scholarly activities have focused on addressing the issue of access to oral health care for children from marginalized segments of society: economically disadvantaged children, children with special health care needs and children living in First Nations and Inuit communities. Kavita has collaborated with both provincial, national and international individuals and institutions to examine barriers to dental care for children in Canada and around the world. Kavita’s work includes peer reviewed publications as well as published reports that helps inform the dental profession’s efforts to educate about providing care for children. As co-Chair of NCOHR’s Pediatrics & Growing Healthy Working Group, Kavita has been providing direction for a research collaboration with Nations Dental, a unique and potentially scalable school-based social enterprise model currently being implemented in Alberta with the aim of improving access to oral health care for children and adolescents from priority populations.
Antonio Nanci BSc, MSc, PhD
Professor
Dr. Nanci is a PhD graduate of McGill University with postgraduate training at University of Southern California. He is a Professor at the Faculty of Dental Medicine the Université de Montréal since 1983, is currently Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies and Director of the Electron Imaging Unit of the University. Since 1990, he has been the Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Calcified Tissues and Biomaterials. He is internationally recognized for his integration of structural and molecular approaches and for his contribution to the field of calcified tissues and biomaterials. Recently he has extended his research interest to the junctional epithelium and periodontal disease. Over the years, he has accumulated a significant experience in research management and has been involved translational research.
Belinda Nicolau DDS, MSc, PhD
Full Professor
Dr. Belinda Nicolau’s work focuses on oral epidemiology; specifically, she studies the aetiology of chronic oral diseases, including oral cancer and oral inflammation, using epidemiological and life course approaches. She is an Associate Editor at the ‘Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology Journal’ and a Reviewing Editor of ‘E-Life’ Journal. She is the Chair of the Network for Oral Health Research Oral Cancer working group and past president of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.
Sharat Pani BDS, MDS
Pediatric Dental Fellow, BC Children’s Hospital, University of British Columbia
Dr. Sharat Pani has over 50 peer reviewed publications in the field of clinical pediatric dentistry and special care dentistry. His research interests center around the biopsychosocial model of disease and seek to combine the fields of epidemiology, behaviour sciences and clinical pediatric dentistry. Dr. Pani has been involved in both clinical dental care and research on the oral health status of individuals with special healthcare needs in several countries including India, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
Carlos Quiñonez DMD, MSc, PhD, FRCD(C)
Vice Dean and Director, Dentistry
Carlos Quiñonez is a dental public health specialist, professor, and Vice Dean and Director of Dentistry at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. Carlos’ research centres on the politics and economics of dentistry, with a special focus on health and social equity. He is the author of The Politics of Dental Care in Canada, published by Canadian Scholars, and is regularly called upon by public and private agencies to provide advice on issues of dental care policy.
J. Paul Santerre PhD, PEng
Director of the Health Innovation Hub (H2i- Faculty of Medicine)
Professor J. Paul Santerre has published >220 peer reviewed publications and is a listed inventor on >70 patents in the area of medical polymers. He is co-founder and current director of the Health Innovation Hub at the University of Toronto (a student focused entrepreneur training co-curricular program that has trained > 650 client health science companies which have generated > $430M Cdn). He is also the current chair of the Health Entrepreneuship Pillar for the African Higher Education Health Collaborative supported by the Mastercard Foundation. He is a co-founder of Interface Biologics, along with having spun-out five other start-up companies from his lab, and has won multiple national awards for his achievements in enabling entrepreneurship, included Canada’s Governor General award for Innovation, and the Professional Engineers of Ontario Entrepreneurship Award in 2017. He has received multiple awards for his community activity including the 2016 Community award from the Canadian Biomaterials, the 2018 President’s Impact Award from the University of Toronto.
Robert Schroth DDM, MSc, PhD
Robert Schroth DDM, MSc, PhD
Dr. Robert Schroth is Professor in the Departments of Preventive Dental Science and the Departments of Pediatrics & Child Health and Community Health Sciences in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. He is presently serves as the Provincial Medical Representative for Pediatric Dentistry with Shared Health Inc. Dr. Schroth is also a research scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. He is a dental clinician-scientist, practicing out of two inner city community-based dental clinics in Winnipeg, Canada. He is recognized as a leading national and international expert on the subject of early childhood caries (ECC). There are four sub-themes to his research program: 1) the relationship between early childhood oral health, vitamin D, nutrition, and well-being; 2) the epidemiology of ECC, including the oral microbiome; 3) promotion of early childhood oral health, prevention and management of ECC, and the evaluation of early childhood oral health promotion programs; and 4) access to care and health services research looking at rates of pediatric dental surgery to treat ECC.
Dr. Zeeshan Sheikh. DipDh, BDS, MSc, PhD, M.Perio, FRCDC, Diplomate of American Board of Periodontology (ABP)
Clinical Scientist in Periodontics. Assistant Professor-Tenure Track
Dr. Zeeshan Sheikh is trained as a dental clinician, a biomaterial scientist, and a periodontal surgeon. After graduating as a dentist, he worked as a dental surgeon for two years before proceeding to obtain an MSc degree in dental and biomaterials from Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) with distinction and then continued his training and obtained a PhD from McGill University, Faculty of Dentistry. He then completed two Post-Doctoral Fellowships at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, and The Mt. Sinai Hospital (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute). He did his Periodontics & Implant Surgery Residency at Dalhousie University and is a Fellow of The Royal College of Dentists of Canada (FRCDC) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology (ABP). Dr. Sheikh has more than sixty-plus research publications, reviews, book chapters, case-reports, and editorials in peer-reviewed and other journals. Being trained extensively as a clinician scientist from prestigious institutions has facilitated the development of his research expertise in developing novel biomaterial options for bone grafting and maxillofacial regenerative applications. Dr. Sheikh continues to work as a clinician scientist and an academic, performing translational research and having a private practice limited to periodontics and implant surgery.
Walter Siqueira DDS MBA PhD FICD FCAHS
Dean and Professor
Dr. Walter Siqueira is the Dean, College of Dentistry and a Tenured Professor at University of Saskatchewan. As Dean, Dr. Siqueira is both the chief academic officer and the chief executive officer of the College of Dentistry.
Benoit Soucy DMD, MSc.
Chief Knowledge Officer, Canadian Dental Association (CDA)
Dr. Soucy received his DMD (1980) from l’Université de Montréal, a certificate in Prosthodontics (1985) and an M.Sc (1988) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been licensed as a specialist in prosthodontics since 1986. He was on faculty at Laval University from 1980 to 1996 and joined the staff of the Canadian Dental Association in 1997 where, as Chief Knowledge Officer he is involved in the management of clinical and scientific issues, of relations with dental specialists, dental faculties and students, and dental benefit carrier. Dr. Soucy is active in standardisation, health informatics and terminology at the national and international levels.
Allan Stordy
CEO, Arete® HR Inc
Allan J. Stordy is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arete® Human Resources Inc., a company that provides professional bilingual services to over 35,000 businesses across Canada. He is a well-known leader and innovator in the employee and business assistance program industry, with a strong commitment to excellence and the belief that neither an employer nor workplace should be the cause of employee health or performance issues.
James Taylor DMD, MA
Chief Dental Officer of Canada
Following his retirement as Chief Dental Officer (CDO) of the Canadian Armed Forces, Dr Taylor was appointed as the CDO of Canada in the federal Ministry of Health. His role is to work with key public and non-public elements of the Canadian health community, and indeed our global counterparts, to provide national and international leadership for the Government of Canada in the advancement of oral health and oral health care for Canadians. Dr Taylor also currently serves as the Chair of the FDI World Dental Federation Section of CDOs and as a Member of the FDI Public Health Committee; as a member of the Standards Council of Canada delegation to the ISO Technical Committee 106 on Dentistry; as Chair of the Public Service Dental Care Plan Board of Management (PSAC component) at the Treasury Board Secretariat; and as Co-Chair of the of the Expert Advisory Committee on Oral Health at Statistics Canada. Dr Taylor is also a reviewer for the Canadian Journal of Public Health, and maintains active licensure as a Specialist in Prosthodontics in Canadian and US jurisdictions.
Bettina M. Willie PhD
Professor & Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Dental Education
Dr. Bettina Willie earned a doctoral degree in Bioengineering from the University of Utah. She is a Professor and the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Dental Education in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University and an investigator at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Canada. Her research program uses multidisciplinary approaches, including state-of-the-art high resolution imaging technologies, to study the causes, detection, and treatment of skeletal fragility. She is particularly interested in understanding how the local mechanical environment influences mineralized tissue formation and regeneration during aging and in rare bone disorders.
International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB)
The mandate of the ISAB is to: a) review the performance of NCOHR and its commitment to excellence, b) advise on the scientific orientations and strategic developments, c) recommend on emerging areas in basic, translational, and clinical research in oral health, and e) counsel on performance indicators to measure the contribution of oral health research to the improvement of care, education, and the evaluation of technologies.
Jill Helms DDS, PhD
Professor, Department of Surgery
Dr. Jill Helms is a full Professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine where she directs a large research group focusing on stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Dr. Helms’ research program is broadly relevant to the fields of Wnt signaling and tissue healing, specifically in the elderly. She has developed a well-funded regenerative medicine program built upon this basic biology, that has been funded through its inception via the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Based on intellectual property generated at Stanford, this work has also attracted significant venture funding. Avalon Ventures, along with Hereaus, Stanford University, and CIRM continue to support development of this program into a therapeutic platform and venture-backed company, Ankasa Regenerative Therapeutics, is undertaking this commercialization work. Dr. Helms is both a co-founder of Ankasa as well as its Chief Scientific Officer when she is on-leave from Stanford. Dr. Helms earned two doctorate degrees, one in Dentistry (DDS, University of Minnesota) and the other in Neurosciences (PhD, University of Connecticut, Health Sciences Center). She completed a residency certificate in Periodontology and post-doctoral training in Biochemistry (Baylor College of Medicine). Her faculty positions have included an Assistant and Associate Professorships at University of California San Francisco (Department of Orthopedic Surgery) and full Professorship at Stanford University (School of Medicine, Department of Surgery/Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery). Her research program is inspired by collaborations with experts in bioengineering, bioinformatics, materials science, physics, and with colleagues in the life sciences. Dr. Helms’ clinically relevant research is her main objective, but it goes hand-in-hand with another goal, to improve human health through education. Jill uses every avenue available to transform the way people think about science, and emphasize its contribution to their daily lives.
Pamela Gehron Robey PhD
Chief, Skeletal Biology Section
Dr. Pamela Robey has worked in the area of bone for over 20 years, which includes basic, translational and clinical studies. She has published ~230 peer-reviewed articles to date. Internationally, she is considered to be an expert in bone and skeletal stem cell biology. She has served on numerous editorial boards in the past, and is currently the Senior Editor of Stem Cell Research, and on the editorial boards of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research and Stem Cells, in addition to being a regular reviewer for many other journals. She has mentored ~40 research and clinical fellows at various levels of training, the vast majority of whom have progressed in their careers in the field. She is an active member of the NIH and extramural community, and focuses in particular on activities to foster career development of junior investigators in the field.
Patricio Smith DDS, PhD
Associate Professor
Dr. Smith’s research focuses on the regulation of inflammation and regeneration of periodontal tissues. Periodontal tissues are critical for the anchorage and continuous adaptation of the dentition to functional demands. These functions are achieved by cells and tissues capable of preserving tissue homeostasis and allowing the repair of tissues after injury. Dr. Smith’s research line is focused on these processes using in vitro and in vivo experimental setups. These studies are directed towards the generation of diagnostic or therapeutic innovations that may potentially improve oral and periodontal care. Dr. Smith is currently Director (Head) of the School of Dentistry at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Thomas Van Dyke DDS, PhD
Vice President, Clinical and Translational Research
Dr. Thomas Van Dyke received his D.D.S. (1973) from Case Western Reserve University; M.S. (1979) from SUNY at Buffalo in Oral Sciences; Periodontics Certificate (1980) from SUNY at Buffalo, and his Ph.D. (1982) from SUNY at Buffalo in Oral Biology. Dr. Van Dyke received the Balint Orban Memorial Prize for Research in Periodontology (1981). He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology (1989), and he received the IADR Award for Basic Research in Periodontology in 2001, the Norton Ross Award for Excellence in Clinical Research in 2002, and the William J. Gies Periodontology Award in 2008. He serves on the editorial boards of Infection and Immunity, Journal of Periodontology, Journal of Periodontal Research, among others, and he has edited two volumes of Periodontology 2000. He served as President of the International Association of Periodontology (1997-1999). Dr. Van Dyke has published 400+ original articles, and numerous abstracts and book chapters. He is a member of the American/International Association of Dental Research; American Academy of Periodontology; International Academy of Periodontology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Microbiology, IADR Periodontal Research Group, American Dental Association, and American Association of Immunologists. His research interests are the structural and functional relationship of abnormalities of the inflammatory process with focus on phagocytic cells and microorganisms, in the etiology and pathogenesis of periodontal and other infectious inflammatory diseases. Dr. Van Dyke is also involved in clinical research and clinical trials focusing on drug treatment for periodontal disease, local delivery systems, and clinical trials of anti-plaque/anti-gingivitis agents, local anesthetics, regenerative periodontal therapies and early onset periodontitis. The remainder of his time is devoted to training of fellows and administration. He is best known for his work on the pathogenesis of juvenile periodontal diseases, resolution of inflammation in neutrophil biology, and clinical research.
Michèle Muller-Bolla DDS, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Dr. Muller-Bolla’s research activities make it possible to evaluate the performance of prosthetic assemblies and associated manufacturing techniques using clinical studies.
Citizen Advisory Board for Oral Health Advancement (CABOHA)
The CABOHA provides a unique forum for citizens and patient representatives to highlight and provide guidance on addressing high-priority oral health-related issues.
Joan L. Rush, BComm, LLB, LLM
Director, Help! Teeth Hurt Dental Clinic Project
Joan Rush is Director of the Help! Teeth Hurt Dental Clinic Project. The project was created to improve access to dental treatment for adults with developmental disabilities and to train dental professionals to treat these adults. Help! Teeth Hurt won the UBC Start an Evolution competition and was funded by the Vancouver Foundation to draft a Business Case to the BC Minister of Health for a Specialized Dental Clinic for adults with special needs. Joan was formerly a Visiting Scholar at the UBC Faculty of Law and was funded by a Law Foundation grant to write Help! Teeth Hurt: Government’s Obligation to Provide Timely Access to Dental Treatment to BC Adults who have Developmental Disabilities. Joan is a retired lawyer who practised insurance and health law for financial institutions and health authorities. Joan was formerly Vice President Law, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of a Canadian life insurer. She was a Director and Governance Chair of Community Living B.C., a Crown Agency, a Director of the B.C. Cancer Agency Research Ethics Board, and Vice President and Director of the Developmental Disabilities Association. Joan and her husband Dennis have two children. Their son, Graeme, lives with autism.
Allan Stordy
President & CEO, Arete® HR Inc.
Allan J. Stordy is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arete® Human Resources Inc., a company that provides professional bilingual services to over 35,000 businesses across Canada. He is a well-known leader and innovator in the employee and business assistance program industry, with a strong commitment to excellence and the belief that neither an employer nor workplace should be the cause of employee health or performance issues.
Lyle Best
C.M., ALHC., LLD (hc)
Lyle R. Best is a veteran of more than 40 years in the Employee and Group Benefits Insurance industry and is Chairman of the Quikcard Group of Companies. Mr. Best is an honorary member of the Alberta Dental Association and College. In recognition of his exemplary contribution to Canadian dentistry, he received the Special Friend of Canadian Dentistry Award from the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) at a ceremony in Ottawa in April 2013, On November 3rd, 2014, Lyle was appointed the first ever Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of 1 Dental Unit (national organization headquartered in Ottawa) by the Minister of Defense by the Honorable Rob Nicolson. In 2016 the Manitoba Dental Association (MDA) honored Lyle with a Distinguished Service Award and also in 2016 the Nova Scotia Dental Association awarded him The Don Pamenter Friend of Dentistry Award for service to the Dental profession as a non-dentist. In June of 2017 Mr. Best will become only the 5th person to receive Honorary Membership in the Newfoundland & Labrador Dental association. He is CEO of the Alberta Dental Service Corporation, and has been the administrator of the Government of Alberta's social services dental programs for over 25 years and was the administrator of the Government of Nova Scotia's MSI children's dental program for 16 years. He was a member of the Nova Scotia Oral Health Advisory Group in both phases one and two. He is a former Senator at the University of Alberta and has served as the Senate liaison to the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, as well as being a member of the admissions committee for Dentistry and Hygiene. At the Senate, he chaired the nominating committee and was a member of the honorary degrees committee. Mr. Best was named Edmonton’s Businessman of the Year in 2005 and was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal the same year. He was inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame in 2006 and was an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce named him Business Owner of the Year. In the same year, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition of his leadership as a fundraiser, mentor and volunteer with numerous charitable, sports and community organizations. In 2012, Mr. Best received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and was inducted into the Edmonton Community Service Hall of Fame. Mr. Best was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Concordia University at a convocation ceremony in 2016. He is an associate member and the Executive Director of the Edmonton Oilers Alumni Association. Mr. Best was the Co-Chair of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, which took place in Alberta in December 2011/January 2012. Mr. Best joined the Board at CDSPI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September 1998. Formerly Vice-Chairman of the Board, in May 2004 he became the first non-dentist Chairman in the history of CDSPI.
Dr. Michael MacEntee
Professor Emeritus, Prosthodontics and Dental Geriatrics
Michael I. MacEntee (LDSI, Dip. Prosth., PhD, FRCDC, FCAHS) is Professor Emeritus of Prosthodontics and Dental Geriatrics at the University of British Columbia. He is a teacher, researcher and clinician focused on public health, quality of life and access to care for people who are disabled by physical, psychological or social circumstances with a special interest in geriatrics. He has published numerous books, chapters, and papers on the measurement, distribution, impact and management of mouth-related disorders. He is a past-president of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and the International College of Prosthodontists. In 2009, he received a Distinguished Scientist Award from the International Association for Dental Research and a Killam Teaching Prize from UBC, and in 2015 he was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Currently, he is the editor-in-chief of Gerodontology, and serves on several editorial boards for international journals.
Dr. Peter V Cooney BDS, DDPH, MSc, FRCD(C)
Health Canada (Retired)
Dr. Peter Cooney is a Public Health Dentist with a dental degree from the National University of Ireland. Following his graduation from dental school, Dr. Cooney spent a number of years in private practice in England and Canada. In 1997, he became the National Dental Officer of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada. From 1999 to 2004 he was the Director General of the Non-Insured Health Benefits Directorate of Health Canada and from 2004 to 2015 he was the Chief Dental Officer of Canada. Since retiring from Health Canada, he has been providing services to a First Nation and a number of Public Health Units.
Dr. Sheri V.A. McKinstry BSc, BDS, DMD, MPH (Indigenous Peoples' Health), MSD, DipPaediatrDent
Co-Founder of the Indigenous Dental Association of Canada (IDAC)
Dr. Sheri McKinstry (Wabishki mitadim ojichidaa ikwe/ White Horse Warrior Woman) is a Board Certified Pediatric Dental Specialist in Canada and the United States. She is a registered/status First Nations and member of Sagkeeng(Fort Alexander) First Nation located in Treaty 1 Territory (Pakoo), with additional family ties to the following communities: Bad Throat / Manigotagan (Simard, Seymour, Sinclair/Makatewassi/Matawakiikiwiwis); Ochekwi Sipi (Fisher River) Cree First Nation, (although they are located in Treaty 2 Territory, they are signatory to Treaty 5) (Sinclair, Leask, Simard/Seymour, Stevenson and Thaddeus/Cochrane); Peguis /St. Peter's First Nation (although located in Treaty 2 Territory, they are signatory to Treaty No.1) (Pakoo); and Black River First Nation (Smith and Bird/Black) which is located in Treaty 5 Territory. She is a proud mother of four grown children and has been married for three decades to her spouse, Andrew. She is a Co-Founder of the Indigenous Dental Association of Canada (located on the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation urban reserve -Treaty No.6), works in private practice on Treaty Six Territory and the Homeland of the Métis, and contracts with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) for Jordan's Principle and the Saskatchewan Dental Therapy Program.
