Academic Staff Elected as President and Secretary
Professor May Wong, Professor in Dental Public Health and Dr Waruna Dissanayaka, Assistant Professor in Oral Biosciences, were appointed as President and Secretary of International Association for Dental Research - Southeast Asian (IADR-SEA) Division Council respectively early this year.
Professor May Wong, Professor in Dental Public Health
Presidentship
Last December, the Faculty organised the 35th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of the IADR-SEA Division and the event was concluded successfully. The acclaimed event was attributed to the incredible leadership of Professor May Wong, Chairperson of the Organising Committee of the 35th IADR-SEA Division Scientific Meeting.
Shortly after the ASM, Professor Wong was elected as the President of IADR-SEA. She has been an IADR member since 1995 and joined the IADR-SEA Division Council as the secretary during Professor Lijian Jin’s Presidency in 2013-2015. Seven years later, she takes up the leadership role. “It is truly amazing. I am blessed to have the support from the members of the IADR-SEA Division Council and their confidence in me as the elected President,” she smiled.
During her time with IADR-SEA Division Council, she has gained much guidance and enlightenment from the former presidents and colleagues who have served wholeheartedly to implement the missions of IADR.
Devotion to Dental Public Health
Without any planning, Professor Wong joined the Faculty of Dentistry and started her career as a part-time research assistant then became Professor in Dental Public Health. She has done a 180 with her career. She went from conducting research in financial statistics to dental statistics. This current academic year marks her 30 years of service. “My life has been filled with blessings. I was grateful to the unique opportunity to excel my career development as a statistician working in a clinical faculty,” she added.
Throughout the years, she has dedicated herself to advancing dental public health and actively participated in the Faculty’s research on Population Oral Health that aims to promote the oral health of different population groups. The research team aspires to build up mHealth platforms and strategies to promote oral health and new ideas on oral disease management targeting.
My life has been filled with blessings. I was grateful to the unique opportunity to excel my career development as a statistician working in a clinical faculty.
Her effort pays off. Not only was she elected as the president of IADR-SEA, but also received the prestigious H. Trendley Dean Memorial Award, an IADR Distinguished Scientist Award that commends investigators with meritorious research in epidemiology and public health.
She attributed her success to her current and former colleagues who have been her mentors and friends along the way. “Special thanks to my MPhil and PhD supervisors, Professor Edward Lo, Professor Kin Lam (Statistics, HKU) and Dr Eddie Lam (Statistics, HKU).”
Moving forward
In the near future, she will endeavour to lead IADR-SEA Division to develop stronger research and collaboration in the region by promoting the training of high-quality personnel, including encouraging student exchange, fostering research and nurturing the next generation of leaders, as well as organising more events to provide opportunities for students, young scientists and senior researchers to showcase their research and gain valuable insights from their fellows.
Moreover, she wishes the research conducted by her team can be applied to the real world for the betterment of the community. She also hopes to contribute to and witness the enhancement of dental hygiene awareness and the application of dental public health knowledge in the Greater Bay Area.
Dr Waruna Dissanayaka, Assistant Professor in Oral Biosciences
Supporting IADR-SEA
Dr Waruna Dissanayaka as a member of IADR-SEA for 11 years, has been actively participating in the IADR events and activities. Nevertheless, this is his first time serving the Division Council. “It is a great honour as well as an opportunity to serve the Division Council as Secretary,” he said.
During the 35th Annual Scientific Meeting of the IADR-SEA Division, Dr Dissanayaka acted as the Scientific Committee Chairperson. The Organizing Committee Chairperson Professor May Wong, Professor in Dental Public Health, who is also the current President of the Division, invited him to take up the secretary role. “I am thankful to Professor Wong for nominating me and to the council for having confidence in me,” he added.
As the secretary, he works closely with President to ensure the smooth operation of the council in order to achieve the goal of promoting research in all aspects of craniofacial, oral and dental research in the IADR-SEA Division. In addition, he also coordinates the communication between the council and the IADR-SEA members as well as the IADR Headquarters and the council.
Passionate in exploring dental stem cells, his current research focuses on enhancing post-implantation dental stem cell survival and vascularization during tissue regeneration, as well as understanding the molecular mechanisms behind the intercellular cross-talk in angiogenic and regenerative processes. “I believe dental stem cell-based regenerative strategies hold great promise for regenerative medicine,” he said.
The Faculty congratulates Professor May Wong and Dr Waruna Dissanayaka on their achievement. Together with Faculty members, the Faculty strives to provide more opportunities for young dental researchers to excel and thrive.
Dr Waruna Dissanayaka received various IADR Awards over the years:
2020: IADR Centennial Emerging Leaders Award for his achievements and potential in the advancement of dental, oral and craniofacial research
2018: IADR-SEA Research Category Award for Tissue Engineering and Craniofacial Biology
2016: IADR William J Gies Award for Biomaterials and Bioengineering Research for the best paper published in Journal of Dental Research
2012: IADR/Colgate Research in Prevention Travel Award