BCD Dr. D’Souza appointed to HHS/NIDCR Advisory Council

(DALLAS) — Dr. Rena D’Souza, professor and chair of biomedical sciences at the Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry, has been appointed to serve a four-year term on the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council.

The Council is responsible for consulting with and making recommendations to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt and the director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), Dr. Lawrence Tabak. Issues include the directions of research, research support, training and career development supported by the NIDCR.

Council responsibilities include making the secondary review of research grant applications based on NIDCR scientific program priorities and monitoring the conduct of NIDCR research.

“To be selected for appointment to an NIH research advisory council, scientists and clinicians must not only be world-renowned experts in their particular field of research, they also must have a broad understanding of the health sciences sufficient to guide NIH into the most promising areas of research and development,” said Dr. David S. Carlson, HSC vice president for Research and Graduate Studies and Regents Professor.

“Appointment to the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council is a great personal achievement for Dr. D’Souza, as it is a major career milestone that is indicative of both her research productivity and her vision of the future for dental and craniofacial research. In addition, (it) is a strong endorsement of the direction for biomedical and clinical research that Dr. D’Souza and her colleagues are pursuing at the Baylor College of Dentistry. I am proud to have her represent Baylor College of Dentistry and the Texas A&M Health Science Center at the National Institutes of Health.”

Dr. D’Souza is one of 13 appointed members of the Council, whose training and interests as scientists uniquely prepare them for this service.

Founded in 1905, Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas is a component of the Texas A&M Health Science Center. HSC-BCD is a nationally recognized center for oral health sciences education, research, specialized patient care and continuing dental education.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center provides the state with health education, outreach and research. Its six colleges located in communities throughout Texas are Baylor College of Dentistry, the College of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, and the School of Rural Public Health.