 Thomas
O'Brien, BASc, MASc, DMD, FAGD, FPFA, FACD officially
retired in 2005 after more than 25 years in practice.
His varied career included involvement in the design
of the first titanium implant born prosthesis in British
Columbia. In addition to doing research into bite alterations
caused by strokes, he actively continued his education
and earned his Fellowship from the Academy of General
Dentistry in 1986. Ten years after opening his practice,
he and his wife bought a used sailboat and developed
a Sea Scout program for their son and his peers. He
became chair of the Employment Issues Committee of the
College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia 10 years
ago. That involvement subsequently led to Dr. O'Brien
developing and giving a series of lectures all across
British Columbia. In addition to lecturing, he began
writing articles on employment issues and subsequently
earned Merit Awards for his work. He has served as the
Vancouver representative, president-elect and president
of the board of directors of the Provincial Dental Association.
As president-elect and president, he obtained $37 million
from the government to benefit those on welfare, new
immigrants, children and those with congenital diseases.
Since his retirement, Dr. O'Brien has worked chairing
a group that is developing a program for seniors in
Care Homes that addresses their unique needs. Just recently,
the group received funding to launch a pilot program.
He also teaches ethics, human rights and employment
issues to dental, dental assisting and receptionist
students, sits on the dental association' Practice Management
Group and Geriatric Dental Committee, and is a member
of the Professional Advisory Committee for the distant
learning program for dental assistants in British Columbia.
The recipient of two Honorary Fellowships in the American
College of Dentists and the Pierre Fauchard Academy,
Dr. O'Brien represented the UBC School of Dentistry
in the 1976 CDA/DENTSPLY Student Clinician Program.
 Anthony
Morlandt is pursuing his DDS at the University
of Texas Health Science Center and expects to graduate
in May 2007. He represented his university at the 2004
ADA/DENTSPLY Student Clinician Program in Orlando, FL,
with his clinic “Risks and Benefits of Tetracycline
in Periodontal Therapy.” His other awards and
honors include the 2005 American Association of Dental
Research Hatton finalist, Junior division; 2004 Omicron
Kappa Upsilon Outstanding Freshman in Research Award;
and 2004 and 2005 UTHSCSA Dental Dean's Travel Award.
Anthony is a member of the AADR National Student Research
Group, the San Antonio AADR Student Research Group,
UTHSCSA Dental School Research Committee, Christian
Medical and Dental Association Leadership Council, UTHSCSA
Student Health Advisory Committee, SCADA and American
Student Dental Association. An active community member,
he also has completed medical mission trips to Piedras
Negras and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
| Study
Explores Salivary Mitochondrial DNA Levels and
Cancer
March 30, 2006 - A team of NIDCR grantees
reported last year that people with oral squamous
cell carcinoma have elevated levels of mitochondrial
DNA, or mtDNA, in their saliva. The mitochondria
are our cells’s energy sources, and they
contain their own unique DNA. Following up
on this discovery, the scientists wondered whether
cells with altered mtDNA remain in the body’s
aerodigestive tract (mouth, pharynx, larynx, and
esophagus) and continue to be found in the saliva
after the primary squamous cell carcinoma tumor
has been surgically removed. To find the
answer, they examined the saliva of 76 head and
neck cancer patients before and after treatment
for the common mtDNA genes called Cox I and Cox
II. As published in the March 1 issue of
the journal Clinical Cancer Research,
the scientists reported the salivary mtDNA content
was significantly decreased in these patients
after treatment, which one would expect following
the removal of their tumors. They found that
the decrease was most pronounced in those who
had never smoked and in patients who had undergone
postoperative radiation therapy. However,
the mtDNA continued to be harvested in the saliva,
an indication that some of these altered cells
are still present postoperatively and most commonly
in current smokers. “The lack of decrease
in current smokers implies that there is a significant
population of residual epithelial cells with elevated
mtDNA . . .”
To
read more about this paper, click here.
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