Drs. Habib Benzian and Richard Niederman Honored by IADR
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) honored Habib Benzian, DDS, MScDPH, PhD, and Richard Niederman, DMD, with awards for their achievements in global oral health, presented during the opening ceremonies of the 101st General Session of the IADR that took place on June 21, 2023, in Bogotá, Colombia.
Dr. Benzian, research professor of epidemiology and health promotion at NYU Dentistry and co-director of the NYU Dentistry World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Quality Improvement and Evidence-based Dentistry, is the recipient of the IADR Distinguished Scientist John Greenspan Global Oral Health Research Award. The award, one of the 17 IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards, is one of the highest honors bestowed by IADR and is named for the late IADR and AADOCR Past President John Greenspan.
Dr. Benzian is a leader in global health, policy, and advocacy who focuses on translating science into policy and actionable interventions to improve global oral health. He is currently a senior adviser to the WHO Global Oral Health Program and collaborates in several areas on global and regional levels. He is an invited expert member of the WHO/UNESCO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 and Education, a member of the Technical Expert Group developing Global Standards for Health Promotion in Schools, a member of the WHO informal working group on health promotion, and a member of the oral health research group of the Global Burden of Disease project. Dr. Benzian was a co-author of the Lancet Series on Oral Health, a two-part series published in The Lancet in 2019, and a co-editor of the WHO’s first-ever Global Oral Health Status Report, launched in November 2022. He is also a member and working group lead of the Lancet Commission on Oral Health.
Dr. Niederman, professor of epidemiology and health promotion at NYU Dentistry, is the recipient of the 2023 IADR E.W. Borrow Memorial Award, which recognizes research in oral health prevention for children, with a priority for caries prevention where fluoride in different formats is utilized. Dr. Niederman’s research focuses on generating evidence for interventions to prevent oral diseases, promote oral health, and reduce disparities, particularly in children and underserved communities. He has pioneered some of the largest school- and community-based oral health programs in the U.S., focusing on simple, evidence-based and cost-effective fluoride applications.
Dr. Niederman founded NYU Dentistry’s WHO Collaborating Center for Quality Improvement and Evidence-based Dentistry in 2016. The WHO designation recognizes NYU Dentistry’s expertise and commitment to evidence-based dentistry and provides the framework for developing, monitoring, and disseminating novel approaches to oral health education, prevention, and disease control in the Americas and globally.