2020 IADR/AADR/CADR GENERAL SESSION

The 98th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR was to be held in conjunction with the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research and the 44th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, from March 18-21, 2020 in Washington, D.C., USA. Due to COVID 19 and the world pandemic, the meeting had to be canceled, but we were able to collect some of the science that was planned for presentation to be available to our members as part of an on demand meeting.

The recordings in this library are a selection of the science that was to be presented onsite at the General Session. These recordings give you the opportunity to participate in the meeting and hear from leading researchers. The recordings include IADR Distinguished Lecture Series speakers, IADR Centennial Plenaries and symposia from a collection of scientific groups and networks.

This session can be purchased as part of the full meeting recordings within the product bundles

SESSION DESCRIPTION

Normal embryonic development entails exquisite spatial and temporal co-ordination of complex cell and molecular processes. A sentinel defect that has been intensively investigated for over 50 years by craniofacial scientists is orofacial clefting (OFC).

Advances in genomics and deep phenotyping in the field of OFC research combined with cell and animal model systems has revolutionized contemporary thinking and brought us close to true therapeutic approaches. This session puts forth seminal examples of the recent discoveries made in OFC research described by some of the experts in the field who have championed technologies, analytics and diverse populations in collaborative studies. Utilizing the understanding derived from intensive research at the molecular level has provided insights into (a) improved diagnostics for detection of fetal abnormalities and (b) possible molecular tools that have the potential to complement or even replace surgical interventions.

Genetic studies of OFC have identified over 100 gene/phenotype correlations in syndromes and both identified molecular pathways critical to craniofacial development and enabled specific diagnosis and prognosis for clinicians and families. Taking advantage of large collaborations across the world, DNA sequencing and association studies have identified over 30 genes/loci contributing to the most common forms of OFC. Further extrapolation of this research may enable detection of fetal RNA present in maternal serum in women pregnant with a child with an OFC to enable very early identification of an affected fetus before imaging is reliable and more specific than DNA testing.

In therapeutics new insights have led to breakthroughs in animal models by manipulation of the signaling pathways to develop small molecule replacement therapies that can restore molecular equilibrium that might in the future be applied to single gene disorders. CRISPR and related technologies may allow researchers to identify, cut and paste entire sections of DNA strands, transferring edited sequences to replace mutations in the target DNA.

In summary a brief history of how we arrived at the state of the field will stimulate a panel and audience discussion of where we will go next.

Learning Objectives:

• To explain how genetics research has led to diagnostic and therapeutic research breakthroughs that can apply across the health arena.
• To describe how deep phenotyping has enlightened the search for genetic predisposition using OFC as an example.
• To demonstrate how meticulous research and improving knowledge of morphogenetic pathways has produced a research breakthrough on prevention.
• To describe how future OFC research can build on past discoveries and simultaneously tackle a significant inequity in healthcare.