January 2008
Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak was appointed as the seventh director of the NIDCR in September 2000. As Director, he provides leadership for a team of ~500 scientists, administrators and support staff with an approximate annual budget of ~$389 million.
Prior to joining NIH, Dr. Tabak was the senior associate dean for research and professor of dentistry and biochemistry & biophysics in the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester in New York. A former NIH MERIT recipient, Dr. Tabak’s major research focus has been on the structure, biosynthesis, and function of mucin-glycoproteins. He continues work in this area, maintaining an active research laboratory (within NIDDK) in addition to his administrative duties.
Dr. Tabak has served actively as co-chair of the Research Teams of the Future component of the NIH Roadmap that emphasizes new ways of doing team science to catalyze additional multi- and interdisciplinary research. He is currently leading an NIH-wide initiative to enhance peer-review. Dr. Tabak serves as co-chair of the NIH-wide Pain Consortium.
Dr. Tabak has received several honors and awards for his work, including being elected a fellow of the AAAS and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Tabak received his undergraduate degree from City College of the City University of New York, his D.D.S. from Columbia University, and both a Ph.D. and certificate of proficiency in endodontics from the State University of New York at Buffalo.