The Future Starts Now Scientific Symposium

For Attendees
​Download the symposium program

The Future Starts Now symposium featured world renowned speakers, and focused on the future in dental and craniofacial research, dental education, and clinical and community care.

We hosted a reception for our Eastman International colleagues. The second day concluded with a fabulous Gala celebration!

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Keynote Speaker

Charles Friedman, PhD

Dr. Friedman is the Josiah Macy Jr. Professor of Medical Education and Chair of the Department of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School

Dr. Friedman’s department is a “first in the nation” medical school academic department dedicated to the sciences of learning at all levels from scale: from learning by individuals, to learning by teams and organizations, and learning by ultra-large scale systems such as entire nations.

Other Featured Speakers

Martha Somerman, D.D.S., Ph.D.

Director, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Received Certificate in Periodontology from Eastman Dental in 1978 and PhD from UR in Pharmacology & Toxicology in1980

NIDCR: Guiding the Future of Oral Health Research and Innovation
NIDCR-supported basic research provides an important foundation from which the development of many therapeutics and products emerge. Dr. Somerman will highlight exciting new dental, oral and craniofacial research results, tools and technology developments, and NIDCR’s efforts to address public health concerns. Looking to the future, NIDCR is implementing a long-term visioning initiative – called ‘NIDCR 2030’ – to engage the community and generate ideas on how to achieve innovative research and workforce goals by year 2030. This initiative will spur NIDCR to develop innovative research areas and promote emerging science while encouraging the public to participate in guiding NIDCR’s future research directions.

Richard W. Valachovic, D.M.D., M.P.H.

President and CEO, American Dental Education Association (ADEA)

Preparing Graduates in 2017 for Practice Through 2060
The dental residents and students who graduate in 2017 will be in practice until 2060. How are dental educators preparing these graduates for a lifetime of practice that will be much different than it is today?  This presentation will look into that uncertain future and describe ways in which the dental education community is preparing this year’s graduates to thrive in it.

Eva Grayzel

Speaker, Six-Step Screening
Tongue-Tied: A Story NOT Silenced by Oral Cancer
One American dies every hour of every day from oral cancer.  Eva came close to being one in this statistic.  The details of her delayed diagnosis, intensive treatment and residual side effects bring to life a real patient story, driving home the importance of effective communication and patient education.  Putting a face to the disease, Eva inspires audiences with her firsthand account of hardships unanticipated and overcome; courage unknown and discovered; a mother’s love tested and triumphant.  Audiences don’t just hear her story, they experience it.

Nancy M. Bennett, M.D., M.S.

Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences
Director, Center for Community Health
Co-director, University of Rochester Clinical & Translational Science Institute
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Academic Health Centers and Their Communities: The Time is Now!
The role of academic health centers is rapidly evolving because of the increasing focus on population health and the social determinant of health. We will discuss the key elements of service to communities and how these link to the population health priorities of academic health centers.

Steve Perlman, D.D.S., M.Sc.D., D.H.L. (Hon)

Clinical Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Boston University School of Dental Medicine
Global Dental Advisor, Special Olympics International

Matthew Holder, M.D., M.B.A.

CEO, Lee Specialty Clinic
President Emeritus, American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry
Global Medical Advisor, Special Olympics, Inc.
President, Council on Developmental Disabilities
Immediate Past President, Special Olympics Kentucky
Vice-Chairman, Cedar Lake Lodge
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Exceptional Parent Magazine

Dental Leadership in the Interdisciplinary Care of Patients with Intellectual Disabilities
This presentation will focus on how leaders in the field of dentistry for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities have not only changed the quality of care being delivered within the dental profession, but also how this effort has led to education and delivery improvements across multiple healthcare disciplines in the United States and around the world.

Full List of Symposium Faculty & Speakers

Educational Grants

To offset expenses associated with the symposium and to minimize attendee registration costs, educational grants have been solicited from various pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

We gratefully acknowledge educational grants from the following groups:

Commercial Exhibitors

Pharmaceutical and dental and oral health device companies also have the opportunity to purchase exhibit space at this activity.

Companies registered to exhibit at this activity:

Colgate-Palmolive Company

Straumann USA, LLC

Ivoclar Vivadent, Inc.

SPEED System Orthodontics

A-dec

Dentsply Sirona

American Orthodontics

Exan Group

Carestream Dental

Rotsaert Dental Laboratory Services Inc.

Rochester Technical Group, Inc.

Hy-Tech Dental Lab

Arieno Dental Laboratory

Zimmer Biomet