Dr. Tom Van Dyke continuously produces innovative research at Forsyth. Recently Dr. Van Dyke received an award and grant from the US-Israel Bi-national Science Foundation (BSF) for a new innovative project he is working on. We asked Dr. Van Dyke to tell us a little bit about the award, grant, and the project he is working on. Here’s what he had to say.
Award and Grant
Dr. Asaf Wilensky and I wrote and recently received a US-Israel Bi-national Science Foundation (BSF) grant entitled “Mechanisms of Pro-Resolving Mediators in Peri-implant Regeneration”. After the grant award, we were informed that we were chosen for the 2022 Neufeld Memorial Research Grant that added an additional $20K to the BSF award.
Professor H. Neufeld*
Prof. H. Neufeld served continuously on the BSF Board of Governors from its charter meeting in 1973 until his death in 1986. During this period, he was elected Chairman of the Board three times. Prof. Neufeld made notable contributions to the growth and development of the Binational Science Foundation. He was especially concerned with the need to help young Israeli scientists become established in Israeli institutions and the need to enhance interdisciplinary research at the moving edges of science.
Prof. Neufeld was an internationally prominent cardiologist and scholar. His research and teaching interests included contributions to cardiology, epidemiology, genetics and biomedical engineering. He served as chief scientist of the Israel Ministry of Health and was the founder and director of the Cardiac Clinic at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.
To honor Prof. Neufeld’s memory, the Binational Science Foundation established in 1987 the Neufeld Memorial Research Award to be given annually to the most outstanding and original BSF supported project in the health sciences.
(*This section is excerpted from https://www.bsf.org.il/about/memorial-awards/prof-neufeld-award/.)
Investigating Dental Implants
The BSF grant that was awarded the Neufeld Memorial Research Grant investigates dental implants. Dental implants are a frequently used procedure to replace missing teeth. In many cases, dental implants begin to fail due to peri-implantitis, which causes the loss of bone support leading to loss of the implant. Loss of implants places an enormous financial and medical/social burden on people with dental implants; therefore, there is a critical need for new effective treatments for peri-implantitis.
In this proposal, we will evaluate a new treatment that will both prevent and treat peri-implantitis that is based on the body’s own pathways for controlling inflammation. The mechanism of action of these molecules will also be examined, so that we can understand how the process works and we can improve upon it. Successful completion of this work will have a significant impact on the growing number of people with dental implants by sparing them excessive pain , cost and social stigma of missing teeth caused by peri-implant disease.
