ADA Foundation names Dr. Thomas C. Hart director of the ADAF Dr. Anthony Volpe Research Center
The ADA Foundation (ADAF) has named Dr. Thomas C. Hart as the new director of the ADAF Dr. Anthony Volpe Research Center (VRC). His tenure at the helm of the VRC will begin April 2, 2015.
A distinguished scientist, academic, researcher, and mentor, Dr. Hart currently serves as professor of periodontics and director of Craniofacial Population Sciences Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. He also currently serves as the chair of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. He earned a BA in biology from the University of Virginia and a DDS degree from Emory University in Atlanta. He later earned a PhD in human genetics from Virginia Commonwealth University.
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In addition to his substantial academic and research experience, Dr. Hart has clinical experience as a practicing dentist in one of the largest dental practices in North Carolina, located in Winston-Salem. He also has extensive experience working in the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in the National Institutes of Health, where he served as chief of the Human Craniofacial Genetics section of NIDCR from 2003 to 2010, and as clinical director of that same institute from 2003 to 2008.
“Dr. Hart was the unanimous first choice of the search committee, and brings a great deal of scientific and administrative experience to the position,” said Dr. William Calnon, ADA past president and ADAF board member who served as chair of the VRC Director Search Committee.
“One of Dr. Hart’s many strengths is his experience working with graduate students and fellows, and serving as a mentor to promising young researchers as they seek funding and work to learn the skills necessary for advancement in science through publications and presentations,” according to Dr. Reneida Reyes, ADAF board president. “He has been successful in securing a number of NIH grants, either as sole investigator or as a collaborative investigator, and is the co-author or author of more than 150 scientific articles.”
“The search committee believes that his experience in academics, his success in mentoring promising young researchers, his proven ability to secure federal grant funding, and the many contributions he has made to the literature and to the educational programs within the dental community will serve us well as we move the ADA Foundation Dr. Anthony Volpe Research Center into a new era,” Dr. Reyes added.
Formerly known as the Paffenbarger Research Center, the Dr. Anthony Volpe Research Center laboratory facility is operated by the ADA Foundation and is located on the grounds of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal government research campus, where it has been since 1928. Previously operated by the ADA and then jointly by the ADA and the ADA Foundation, the lab conducts unique research in cutting-edge fields of biomaterial and tissue engineering technologies.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the ADA Foundation, visit www.adafoundation.org or call (312) 440-2547.
