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Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the glands that produce tears and saliva. One of the most common autoimmune disorders, Sjögren’s is thought to affect 1 to 4 million people in the United States, most of them women older than 40.
<p>Matthew P. Hoffman, BDS, PhD, who is a senior investigator and chief of the Matrix and Morphogenesis Section in the Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Biology (LCDB) in NIDCR’s Division of Intramural Research, has been appointed the Division’s deputy scientific director.</p>
As part of the budget planning process for Fiscal Year 2018, NIDCR is identifying topical themes for development into research initiatives. During this process, we welcome input from our scientific advisory boards, the extramural community, interested organizations, and the public at large.
NIDCR Director Martha Somerman has appointed Emily Harris as Chair and Deborah Philp as Vice-Chair of the NIDCR Committee for Diversity and Inclusion (NCDI). They will serve a two-year term with the option of a second two-year term.
Maintaining the body’s barrier defenses at sites such as the skin and mucosal surfaces is critical for health and survival. These barriers are continually exposed to foreign substances and infectious agents, and are home to a diverse array of commensal microbes—microorganisms that cause no harm and are part of the normal flora.
To improve the understanding of the effects of e-cigarette aerosol mixtures on the oral cavity, NIDCR awarded seven research grants (RFA-DE-16-004 and RFA-DE-16-005) totaling more than $2 million.