Orlando, Florida at the Annual Meeting of the AADR
Friday, March 10, 2006 12:00 PM
Attendance:
Mark Wolff, Allen Otsuka, Frank Scannapieco, Andrew Spielman, Steven London, Israel Kleinberg, Mustafa Dabbous, Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, Maria Ryan, Fred Stange, Sunday Akintoye, Joel Rudney, Bjorn Steffensen, Dorothy Burk, Andrew Schealel, Olav Alvares,Jordan Garlic, Benjamin Godder, Ken Etzel, David Kannapic, Sena Narendaor
Minutes of the last meeting
Minutes of the last meeting held on March 10, 2005 in Baltimore, MD were read and approved without changes.
President's Report
President Sunday Akintoye reported that AAOB membership remained relatively stable at 183. However, only 67 of the members on the roster had actually paid their dues. The foundational guidelines for an Oral Biology curriculum were circulated by e-mail by Dr. Mark Wolf, who received only one response to his request for comments. Dr. Akintoye reminded those assembled of the need to promote the future of AAOB by actively recruiting new members. He suggested this need might be served by resurrecting an annual program at the IADR/AADR meeting.
The group thanked Dr. Akintoye for his service as president during the past year.
Secretary/Treasurer's Report
Dr. Salomon Amar could not be present, so his report was presented by Dr. Akintoye. The budget remained relatively stable during the past year, with a final balance of $12, 057.89. The treasurer’s report was unanimously accepted.
Update on CROBM
Dr. Olav Alvares praised IADR publications staff for their cooperation in making a seamless merger between CROBM and JDR. He announced that he would be stepping down as editor of the CROBM section in July, and indicated that the search for a new editor was pending.
Foundational Curriculum Guidelines:
Dr. Wolf again noted the relative lack of response to his request for comments on the guidelines. Dr. Alvares raised the question of why it was necessary for AAOB to produce its own guidelines, when other groups are working on this project, notably ADEA. At several points during the discussion Dr. Israel Kleinberg expressed the opinion that it was important for AAOB to present an independent scientific voice that would be distinct from those expressed by dental school administrators. In general discussion, others presented the contrary view that a more collaborative approach might increase the chances of AAOB’s voice being heard. This issue remained unresolved. It was decided that a sub-committee consisting of Drs. Andrew Spielman, Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, and Joel Rudney would work with Dr. Wolf (as chair) to produce a revised document that would be circulated to the membership in July.
Election of Officers:
- Dr. Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque was elected President-Elect
- Dr. Saloman Amar was re-elected as Treasurer for 2006-2009.
- Dr. Maria Ryan was elected as Program Director for a two-year term.
- Drs. Mustafa Dabbous and Frank Scanapieco were elected for 2-year terms as Directors, while Drs. Mark Wolf and Steve London were appointed to one-year terms as Directors at large.
- All votes were unanimous.
New Business
Dr. Akintoye proposed that the AAOB should resume offering an Annual Scientific program. Dr. Ryan, as the new Program officer, suggested that technology transfer might be a suitable topic. Dr. Spielman noted that the ADEA Oral Biology section plans to offer a symposium on chairside diagnostics, and suggested the AAOB might co-sponsor that session. Mentoring of Oral Biology graduate students surfaced as a third potential topic during general discussion. The purpose of that proposed symposium would be to provide advice and support to students considering a career in Oral Biology (Dr. Webster-Cyriaque noted that many Oral Biology PhDs go on to post-docs in other fields, and lose contact with Oral Biology as a discipline). Dr. Ryan indicated that she would asset up a potential program for each of the three topics, and then solicit opinions from the membership.
Dr. Spielman raised the issue of the future of AAOB, since we are not growing and our members are aging. This initiated a general discussion as to how we might recruit new members. It was suggested that we target students and student groups such as the AADR Student Research Group. The promotion of post-doctoral experiences in Oral Biology also was suggested. There was some discussion of whether the Oral Biology student award might be used as a recruiting tool, perhaps by giving it to second- or third-year students. No decision was reached on that topic. Dr. Wolf made a motion that the president of AAOB be asked to reach out to directors of Oral Biology graduate programs, asking them to invite oral biology graduate students to attend our annual session, where we might offer them membership and help with their professional concerns. This motion was passed by those present.
These minutes were written and submitted by Dr. Joel Rudney.
