Martha J. Somerman

Martha Somerman became NIDCR's first woman director in 2011. An expert in the body's ability to repair itself, Somerman launched the Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Tissue Regenerative Consortium (DOCTRC) to advance this work. She also led pioneering studies of temporomandibular disease. Somerman continued to promote workforce diversity and fight disparities and turned to social problems such as vaping before retiring in 2019.