University of the Pacific’s Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry has launched the Center for Innovation and Translation to drive new clinical research partnerships supporting the oral and overall health of people in the United States and beyond.
The school will bring together internal and external collaborators to develop innovative practices and translate clinical research to improve oral health care.
The Dugoni School’s location in the San Francisco Bay Area puts it in the innovative heart of many fields, including biotechnology, big data, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies of all kinds.
The center will facilitate small pilot initiatives and clinical studies to drive evidence for larger, better-informed and more significant grant applications for translational and clinical research.
The center will also host the Dugoni School’s “Biobank” to facilitate a whole new era of patient sampling and clinical assessment and investigation for global academic and commercial access. Work will include big-data analysis to find links between oral and general health, and the use of salivary diagnostics to improve the ability to diagnose and treat oral and systemic conditions.
The center is directed by Dr. Rebecca Moazzez, professor and chair of the Dugoni School’s Department of Preventive and Restorative Dentistry. Dr. Moazzez joined the Dugoni School in 2021 after serving for many years as professor at King’s College London School of Dentistry in the UK, where she also served as the college’s founding director of the Oral Clinical Research Unit.
“I am very excited about the launch of the Center for Innovation and Translation and honored to have the opportunity to lead the center,” said Dr. Moazzez. “I am looking forward to many internal and external collaborations in the coming months and years. The center is dedicated to supporting innovations and carrying out clinical studies for translation into practice, with the aim of helping people lead a healthy life.”
An advisory board for the center is currently being formed that will include school leaders, representatives of research organizations, commercial companies, a patient or public member and others. Companies and individuals interested in getting involved with the center’s clinical research activities or advisory board are invited to contact Dr. Moazzez at rmoazzez@pacific.edu or 415.780.2068.
“I am proud of our school’s 125-year history of innovation and excellence,” said Dr. Nader A. Nadershahi, dean of the Dugoni School. “With a world-class leader like Dr. Moazzez, I am excited about the creative solutions this center will bring to improving oral health as an important part of overall health and wellbeing.”
To learn more, visit the Center for Innovation and Translation website.
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