The Impact of the NIH Roadmap in Shaping Dental Research in the 21st Century
In May 2002, new NIH director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. launched a series of meetings to chart a “roadmap” for medical research in the 21st century. At these meetings, over 300 leaders from various fields of science helped to identify the major opportunities and existing gaps in biomedical research that no single NIH institute could pursue alone but that the agency as a whole must address to make the biggest impact on the progress of medical research. more...

Pain Research: Past, Present, and Future
Dr. Ronald Dubner has a long and distinguished career in pain research. He is credited with establishing the first interdisciplinary pain research team at the NIDCR during the early 1970s, and his studies have helped to lay the groundwork for defining the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and genetics of pain. more...

Scientists Report New Leads in the Surprising Evolutionary Biology of a Common Oral Pathogen
Dental researchers often say studies of the mouth may have important implications in other parts of the body. If ever there was a case in point, it’s research on a common oral pathogen with the tongue-twisting name of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. more...

Craniofacial Research: Scientists Report New Lead in Craniofacial Development
In the 1830s, when Charles Darwin first visited the remote Galapagos Islands, he noticed something striking. Of the dozen or so species of finch that inhabited the islands each seemed to occupy its own unique ecological niche. Darwin speculated that each finch must have evolved highly specialized beaks that gave them a survival advantage over other species within their habitats. "Darwin's finches" are one of the most cited examples of natural selection, a cornerstone concept in modern biology. more...

Cleft Lip and Palate: Van der Woude Syndrome
After a nearly 20-year search, a team of scientists report in the October 2002 issue of Nature Genetics that it has discovered a gene involved in causing Van der Woude Syndrome, the most common form of syndromic cleft lip and palate. The Inside Scoop recently spoke with two authors on the paper: NIDCR grantees Jeff Murray, M.D., and Brian Schutte, Ph.D., both of whom are scientists in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa. They shared their thoughts on the difficulty in identifying the Van der Woude Syndrome gene, the possible scientific benefits of studying twins, and the implications of this gene discovery on the more common non syndromic cleft lip and palate. more...