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 Educators Who Endorse the AAOF
Dr. James Mah
The AAOF has been a key part of my career development. The AAO Foundation has allowed me to direct my career and reach a level that I would not have otherwise attained. The support has allowed me to perform the activities that you would expect a full-time faculty member to do – teach, practice part-time and conduct research.
One area where the AAO Foundation has helped me is in supporting research not traditionally funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In orthodontics, we have problems that are very important to us and our patients, such as root resorption and relapse. I remember when I completed my doctorate; my advisor said to me “stick with AIDS research, cancer or Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s research.” He said this not to demean other areas of research, but because he knew this is where a significant portion of federal funding is allocated. Let’s look at this from another perspective. The federal government spends $5,000 per citizen per year on all federal programs. Only $50 per citizen per year is spent on biomedical research. Of this amount, 83 cents per citizen per year is in the budget of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). I extrapolated this further by searching the NIH Web site for orthodontic-related research and found that roughly $2.5 million was spent last year. This equates to less than 1 cent per citizen per year. This underscores the idea that while some of our research issues are in alignment with the NIH’s mission, not all of our research requirements fall into this field of interest. For this reason, we are fortunate to have the AAO Foundation. In my research, I have been fortunate to be funded by the AAOF to study root resorption. With the support of the AAO Foundation, my lab has recently been able to develop a biochemical assay for root resorption. This ELISA-based method involves the sampling of gingival crevicular fluid and analyzing it for the breakdown products of the root. This method holds promise as a very useful research tool, as well as a diagnostic assay for patients undergoing orthodontic tooth movement.
The AAO Foundation has also helped me fund a pilot study that will serve as preliminary data for an NIH/NIDCR grant application. This is a little bit like saying “money begets more money.” As you are aware, all orthodontic programs are working on tight budgets, and research is expensive. Many departments simply do not have the funds to pursue their research ideas. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be granted an AAOF basic science grant to begin studies on the identification of the genes responsible for mandibular prognathism. I am interested in the genetics of facial form as this knowledge is not only critical to our understanding of growth and development but also has very real clinical applications. With this knowledge, we may be able to better predict growth, response to treatment mechanics, treatment outcomes, and possibly look at gene therapy. When I was developing the idea for this research, I discussed it with Harold Slavkin, director of the NIDCR. He loved the idea and encouraged me to submit an application with pilot data. Fortunately, with the support of the AAO Foundation, I am now able to begin collecting families with Class III skeletal malocclusions and converting this data into an NIH application.
These are just two areas where the AAO Foundation has directly helped my career. Everyone knows the feeling of success and seeing their ideas come to fruition. Imagine if your ideas are stifled because of inadequate funding. Without support to realize your ideas, you would become frustrated and likely leave academia. This is another area where the AAOF has helped me and many others. With its support, I am able to conduct my research, balance a schedule of teaching and practice, and, overall, enjoy my work. |
