IADR Recognizes Dr. Michel Koo with Dental Caries Research Award

Dr. Hyun (Michel) Koo, Professor in the Divisions of Pediatric Dentistry and Community Oral Health and the Department of Orthodontics.

Philadelphia, PA – Penn Dental Medicine’s Dr. Hyun (Michel) Koo has been recognized for his research by the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) as the 2018 recipient of the William H. Bowen Research in Dental Caries Award. The award was presented at the opening ceremonies of the 96th General Session of the IADR, being held in London from July 25-28, 2018 in conjunction with the IADR Pan European Regional (PER) Congress.

Professor in Penn Dental Medicine’s Divisions of Pediatric Dentistry and Community Oral Health and the Department of Orthodontics, Dr. Koo is an international leader in the field of cariology. His research has focused on understanding the relationship between biofilms and oral infectious disease and seeking novel therapeutic strategies that effectively control the most pathogenic elements of dental caries. Dr. Koo’s work has provided greater understanding of the mechanisms of cariogenic biofilm development, provided new biofilm methodologies, shown novel anti-biofilm and caries-preventive approaches, and has developed new technologies for delivery of anti-biofilm and anti-caries agents.

Dr. Koo has over 100 publications on cariology and approximately 120 other publications to his credit. He has presented a variety of papers on this subject and is among the speakers as the 2018 IADR General Session, speaking on “New Technologies Targeting Cariogenic Biofilms.” Early in his career, Dr. Koo was recognized as a promising young investigator in the area of cariology as a recipient of the IADR Distinguished Science Award and the IADR Basil G. Bibby Young Investigator in Cariology Award.

Last year, the IADR renamed its IADR Research in Dental Caries Award to the William H. Bowen Research in Dental Caries Award in honor of Dr. Bowen, an American Association for Dental Research (AADR) Past President, who passed away on 2016. Dr. Bowen, who was on the faculty of the University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry, was a long-standing member of the IADR and served as the 67th president of the Association, the 10th president of the AADR, and as an IADR treasurer.

“William Bowen was a beloved mentor, colleague and friend,” says Dr. Koo, who completed a postdoctoral fellowship in oral biology at the University of Rochester and served on its faculty before joining Penn Dental Medicine 2013. “So this is a particularly meaningful and very special award for me.”

Supported by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., the William H. Bowen Research in Dental Caries Award is one of the IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards and is one of the highest honors bestowed by IADR. The award is designed to stimulate and recognize outstanding and innovative achievements that have contributed to the basic understanding of caries etiology and/or to the prevention of dental caries.