Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos

Professor Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos received his MD and PhD degrees from the National University of Athens (1968, 1971) respectively. He was trained in Internal Medicine (1972-1974; Georgetown University, Washington, DC) and in Rheumatology/Immunology (1974-1976; University of California San Francisco). He worked as a scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1976-1980) and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical School (1977). He is a Fellow of the American Colleges of Physicians and Rheumatology.

In 1980, he was elected founding Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Ioannina, Greece. In 1993, he was elected Professor and appointed Chairman of the Department of Pathophysiology at the National University of Athens and Director of the Internal Medicine Department at “Laiko” University Hospital, academic posts that he holds up to 2011. Since then he is an Emeritus Professor.

He has served as an Expert Clinical Consultant at the NIH, Bethesda (1980-1985), and as visiting Professor of Immunology at the University Hospital of Brest, France (1989-1990).

His original scientific peer-reviewed publications are more than 550. He has also authored over 200 book chapters, editorials and review papers. He has edited three multi-authored books of Pathophysiology, two books on Sjögren’s syndrome and another on rheumatoid foot. His work is highly acknowledged (>35000 citations, h factor >100) and includes: a) experimental animal, as well as clinical studies revealed that the immune system in autoimmune diseases is activated, b) clinical studies describing new manifestations or subgroups of autoimmune disorders, prognostic risk factors, diagnostic tests and therapeutic interventions (in Sjögren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-phospholipid syndrome and vasculitis), c) immunochemical studies evaluating autoantibodies, cryoglobulins, epitopes and complementary epitopes of autoantigens, c) immunopathologic and molecular studies of the pathologic lesion from Sjögren’s syndrome patients, which dissected the composition of autoreactive cells and showed the significant role of glandular epithelial cells as initiators and perpetuators of the autoimmune insult.

He has organised several international meetings on Autoimmune Rheumatic disorders.

He has been awarded the “Alessandro Robecchi” Prize for Rheumatology research (1987), the European-Australian Award for Medical Research (1993), the Hellenic Society of Immunology Award (2001), the “Xanthopoulos-Pneumatikos” Prize for excellence in university teaching (2005), Honorary Fellowships from the British Society of Rheumatology (2006) and the Royal College of Medicine, (Edinburgh-1993 and London-2006), the “Distinguish Scholar Clinician Award” by ACR (2006), the “Charles Von Pirquet” Award for distinction in Medicine and Immunology (2007) by the University of California, Davis the title of Hippocratic Orator from the Hellenic Medical Society, London, U.K. (2008), the title of Master, American College of Rheumatology (2009). EULAR awarded him the Meritorious Service Award in 2010 for his outstanding services to Rheumatology. He has received an honorary doctorate from the Medical School, University of Thessaly (2010). The University of Ioannina in recognition of his contribution in Medical Sciences, in research, teaching and patient care, conferred him the title of Professor honoris causa in 2010. The same year, an international panel of experts awarded him (jointly with Professor G. Chrousos) the Bodosaki Excellence Award. Journal of Autoimmunity, has devoted a special issue (vol 35, 3, Nov. 2010) honoring his original scientific contributions. In April 2011, the Board of Trustees of Ioannina University Hospital decided to dedicate the Rheumatology Ward to his name and in October 2013 the Hospital of Special Surgery (Cornell Medical School) has honored him as Professor and Physician-in-Chief Pro-Tempore. In July 2014 the President of Hellenic Republic for his contribution to higher education and novel research decorated him with the “Metal of Honor” and in October 2014 the Hellenic Physiology Society honored him with “Kotzias Award”.

Stefano Fedele

DMD, PhD
Stefano Fedele is Professor of Oral Medicine at University College London, Eastman Dental Institute (UCL EDI), and Consultant in Oral Medicine at University College London Hospital, Eastman Dental Hospital (UCLH EDH). He is Head of Department of Clinical Research, Lead for the Oral Health & Disease Theme of the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, and Specialty Lead (Oral and Dental) for the NIHR Clinical Research Network – North Thames. He sits on National Advisory Groups of the National Cancer Research Institute including the Head & Neck Cancer Clinical Specialty Group and the Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis advisory group. His research activity is focused on clinical and translational research, in particular high-quality clinical trials and the development of robust clinical evidence, so to guide clinical decisions in daily practice. He has a special interest in oral cancer and prancer, salivary gland disease, chronic inflammatory disorders of the oral mucosa, and jaw bone disorders. Professor Fedele has published over 100 scientific papers and has been awarded research grants from several EU and UK funding bodies amounting to more than £4M.

Camile S Farah

BDSc, MDSc (OralMed OralPath), PhD, GCEd (HE), GCExLead, FRACDS (OralMed), FOMAA, FIAOO, FICD, FPFA
Professor of Oral Oncology
Dean & Head, UWA Dental School, University of Western Australia
Director, Oral Health Centre of Western Australia
Oral Medicine Specialist, Perth Oral Medicine & Dental Sleep Centre

Camile is Professor of Oral Oncology, Dean & Head of the UWA Dental School, and Director of the Oral Health Centre of WA, at the University of Western Australia.

Camile is a registered specialist in both Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology with sub-specialty training in Oral Oncology. He is a Consultant in Oral Medicine at the Oral Health centre of WA, and maintains a part-time private practice in Oral Medicine. He is a member of the Head & Neck Cancer Multidisciplinary Team at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and Director of the Australian Centre for Oral Oncology Research & Education.

Camile is a Fellow of the Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia, the International Academy of Oral Oncology, the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (Oral Medicine), the International College of Dentists, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy. He is the Inaugural and Past President of the Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia, Past President of the Australian & New Zealand Division of the International Association for Dental Research, Chairman-elect of the Australian Dental Research Foundation and past Chairman of its Research Advisory Committee.

Camile’s research is focussed on oral oncological translational research, personalized patient care, patient and clinician education and professional development, and overall advocacy for patients with oral cancer. His research spans optical imaging modalities, molecular genomics, and clinical trials in early cancer detection and oncological surgery.

Camile has authored over 140 peer reviewed publications including 17 book chapters with an H-index of 32. He has personally attracted approximately $7.5 million in competitive research funding, been involved in other successful collaborative grants totalling nearly $10 million, and has mentored over 50 postgraduate students and postdoctoral staff.

He is co-editor and co-author of a new authoritative comprehensive textbook entitled “Contemporary Oral Medicine” to be published by Springer in 2018.

Jennifer Taylor

BDS MBChB MFDSRCS FDS(OM)RCPS
Oral Medicine Consultant and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Dr Jennifer Taylor is an oral medicine specialist and works as a NHS consultant and honorary senior clinical lecturer in Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. During her clinical oral medicine training in Manchester she developed an interest in evidence based dentistry and in particular Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis. Her research aims to improve the quality of evidence through the development of core outcome sets in oral medicine. She is a regular reviewer for numerous journals and is an editor with Cochrane Oral Health.

Andrea Sardella

Andrea Sardella, MD is Full Professor of Oral Diseases at the University of Milan (Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences), Unit of Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Gerodontology.

He graduated in Medicine from the University of Milan in 1988 and completed his residency training in Dentistry and Stomatology at the same University in 1991. In 1994 concluded the course in Oral Pathology in Copenhagen, Dir. Prof JJ Pindborg. He joined the European Working Group On Tobacco and Oral Health (1996-1999) and he is a member of the European Association for Oral Medicine (1994-present) and of Italian Society of Oral Medicine and Pathology. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Dental Education (2006-present).

Andrea Sardella has a special interest in studying and treating chronic orofacial pain disorders. He has also a clinical focus in early detection of oral cancer, oral premalignant lesions and management of oral manifestation of systemic disease.
(orcid.org/0000-0003-4491-4640)

Monica Pentenero

Monica Pentenero, DDS, MSc is Associate Professor of Oral Medicine at University of Torino (Department of Oncology, Unit of Oral Medicine and Oral Oncology), Head of the Stomatology Department and member of the Head and Neck Tumour Board at the S. Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital, where she practices her clinical activity on Oral Medicine and Oral Oncology. She is Programme Director of the Master of Science in Oral Medicine and Special Needs and Programme Director of the Oral Surgery Specialty course and is involved in teaching on a pre- and postgraduate level.

Monica graduated from the University of Turin School of Dentistry (1999) with “ad honorem” mention. Visiting Scholar in 2002, at the Oral Medicine Clinic, Department of Stomatology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She subsequently completed her academic education receiving a Master Degree in Oral Medicine and Special Needs (2004) and a Specialty Degree in Oral Surgery (2009).

Monica is a member of the Editorial Board of “Oral Diseases” and is a peer reviewer for general medical and specialist Journals.
Member of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer and of the International Society of Oral Oncology, founding member of the Italian Association of Head and Neck Oncology, active member and board member of the Italian Society of Pathology and Oral Medicine, she served as board member of the European Association of Oral Medicine (2010-2014).
Her research interests relate to oral oncology, mainly focused on prevention, diagnosis and management of potentially malignant disorders and early cancer; she has a special interest in Chronic inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa (lichen planus, pemphigus, pemphigoid), Jaw bone disease, Orofacial Pain and Oral management of patients treated for Head and Neck cancer.

Miriam Rosin

Director of the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program (BCOCPP), BC Cancer Agency
Clinical Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Science, University of British Columbia
Professor, Biomedical Physiology, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Rosin is a translational scientist who has worked across the continuum of care for oral cancer control. As director of the BC Cancer Agency’s oral-cancer program, her work covers a wide variety of topics including the development of strategies for increasing public awareness of oral cancer, the engagement and empowering of screening and referral networks for dental health professionals, and the development of clinical models for risk assessment and management. She is PI on a unique Oral Cancer Prediction Longitudinal Study that has been following ~ 900 patients with oral dysplasia for over 15 years, to develop and validate indicators of risk of progression for such lesions. This effort has created a pipeline for research into the development of innovative molecular and adjunctive tools to facilitate clinical decision-making and remove barriers to oral cancer and precancer patient flow through the health system. Her current efforts include the development of a framework for future community cancer prevention research that will provide a venue for the tailoring of these validated approaches within community settings and for catalyzing research at the community level. A further focus is the evolution of treatment strategies for high-risk oral potentially malignant lesions. Dr. Rosin has led cancer research projects in the Philippines, India, Egypt and Russia as well as Canada and is a strong advocate for international collaboration on cancer control. She is currently involved in an international study with investigators at the University of Heidelberg to better define the role human papillomavirus infection plays in progression of oral dysplasia.

Göran Stenman

Professor of Pathology at the Department of Pathology and Genetics, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. Director of the Sahlgrenska Cancer Center at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

Göran’s research is focused on tumor pathology and cancer genomics. He has a special interest in fusion oncogenes and their role as diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers in salivary gland tumors. Göran and his research group have been instrumental in the identification of gene fusion networks in both sarcomas and salivary gland neoplasms. Recently, they identified and molecularly characterized the MYB-NFIB fusion oncogene in salivary and breast adenoid cystic carcinomas and showed that the fusion is the major oncogenic driver in this fatal cancer. Importantly, they also demonstrated that the fusion gene is a novel therapeutic target in this cancer irrespective of anatomical localization.

Gunnar C. Hansson

Professor of Medical Biochemistry

I decided to focus our research on mucus and mucin structure and function in the late 1980ies. This commitment and the long journey have brought us to the international forefront reflected in NIH, ERC and prestigious national funding. Our discovery of an inner mucus layer in colon devoid of bacteria has changed the way we understand mucosal immunology. The inner mucus layer is expanded and transformed into the outer mucus layer by endogenous host protease systems. In the absence of the MUC2 mucin, bacteria are in direct contact with the epithelial cells, something that trigger severe inflammation and later on colon cancer development, similar to what is observed in the human disease ulcerative colitis. Mouse models of spontaneous colitis all have defect inner mucus layer allowing bacteria to reach the epithelium Comparing identical mice, but with different microbiota show that the bacteria strongly influences the penetrability of the inner mucus layer as do the diet as a Western-type diet quickly renders the inner mucus layer defective. If bacteria reach the colon crypt openings, there is a second defence line controlled by a single specialized goblet cell that we named Sentinel. This cell reacts to bacterial products and coordinates mucus expulsion to remove the bacteria. Recently we have revealed how glands are able to form linear MUC5B mucin bundles and how these are able to clean the tracheobronchial surface and likely the surfaces of the mouth.

Thomas Greiner

Thomas Greiner, Ph.D. works as a researcher in the group of Professor Fredrik Bäckhed at the Wallenberg Laboratory for cardiovascular research, University of Gothenburg. Dr. Greiner received his Ph.D. from Lund University, where he studied the role of Rho-GTPases in the developing pancreas. Continuing his effort in pancreatic research, he performed his postdoctoral training in the group of Fredrik Bäckhed at the University of Gothenburg where he has studied the role of the gut microbiota in the development of Type 1 Diabetes. His scientific work is currently focusing on using gnotobiotic, genetically modified mouse strains to address functional interactions between gut microbiota and host and its role in metabolic diseases. He is specifically interested in how gut micriobiota and energy availability regulates the signaling of GLP-1 and other enteroendocrine hormones in the intestine and its functional consequences on intestinal function and host metabolism.

Gunnel Svensäter

Gunnel Svensäter is professor of Oral Biology. She received her DDS and PhD from Lund University after which she took up a postdoc at University of Manitoba, Canada, where she explored sugar transport and carbohydrate metabolism in oral streptococci. In parallel with her research career she practiced dentistry for 10 years. She is currently chairman of the Department of Oral Biology at Malmö University where the research group focuses on the function of oral biofilms in relation to oral diseases. The group has been successful in attracting external funding for basic mechanistic projects as well as for translational research with health care providers and industrial partners. Interactions between bacteria and the bacterial response to environmental stresses are studies in multi-species biofilm models as well as in the clinical setitng. The group has strong collaborations with the University of Minnesota to explore the mechanism of adhesin presentation on streptococcal surfaces. She has special competence in microbiology and is responsible for clinical oral microbiological diagnostic services at Malmö University.

Wivi-Anne Sjöberg

Senior oral medicine consultant and clinic manager at Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra and Kungälv Hospital in Region Västra Götaland, Sweden. Specialist in oral medicine and hospital dentistry. Teaches at Gothenburg Dental School and frequently holds lectures in oral medicine.

Emma Ekenstråle

Senior oral medicine consultant at Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra and Kungälv Hospital in the Region Västra Götaland, Sweden. Specialist in oral medicine and hospital dentistry. Teaches at Gothenburg Dental School and frequently holds lectures in oral medicine.

Stephen Porter

Professor Stephen Porter is Institute Director and Professor of Oral Medicine of Director UCL Eastman Dental Institute and a past President of the European Association of Oral Medicine. His research interests include the diagnosis and management of potentially malignant disease of the mouth and the treatment of immunologically mediated disease of the mouth and salivary glands. He has published over 450 scholarly works including original research papers, review articles, editorials, textbooks and computer-based works.

Oskar Ragnarsson

Oskar Ragnarsson is a consultant in endocrinology and the chief physician of the in-patient department of Endocrinology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. His research relates to long-term consequences in patients with Cushing’s syndrome in remission and patients receiving glucocorticoid replacement therapy.

Lars Rasmusson

Professor and consultant maxillofacial surgeon, Head dept. of oral and maxillofacial surgery, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Professor Rasmusson is a graduate (DDS) from the Faculty of Odontology, University of Gothenburg Sweden and (MBBS) from Barts and The London, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London, UK. In 1998 he defended a PhD thesis in biomaterial sciences and in 2002 he was appointed senior lecturer in maxillofacial surgery. In 2007 he was appointed professor of maxillofacial surgery and since 2008 he is head of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. He has published around 100 papers and book chapters in the fields of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Mr. Rasmusson is also consultant surgeon at the Sahlgrenska University hospital and the clinical work is concentrated to orthognathic and reconstructive surgery. He is also a part time Naval physician specializing in diving medicine.
Recent years, main research focus has been on adipose stem cells for bone reconstruction.

Giovanna Zambruno

MD, Professor, Instituto Dermopatico dell’Immacolata, IDI-IRCCS, Rome, Italy

Giovanna Zambruno graduated in Medicine at the University of Pavia in 1982. After residency in Dermatology and Venereology at the same University, she completed her training with Prof. Jean Thivolet at the INSERM Laboratory of Dermatological and Immunological Research and at the Department of Dermatology, Lyon, France (1985-86). She worked as a visiting scientist at the Department of Cell Biology, Centre International de Recherches Dermatologiques (CIRD), Sophia Antipolis, France, and at the Cell Differentiation Laboratory, Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy. In 1987 she became staff member at the Department of Dermatology, University of Modena, Italy, where she established her first research group, and, in 1995, she moved to the Istituto Dermopatico dell’Immacolata (IDI), as Director of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Biology. In 2017 she has been appointed Scientific Director of the Institute.

Her clinical and research activities have been mainly focused on rare skin diseases, in particular genetic and autoimmune epithelial adhesion disorders and keratinization disorders. Her laboratory at IDI contributed to the identification of causative genes in various genodermatoses, from inherited epidermolysis bullosa subtypes to ectodermal dysplasias, to the delineation of genotype-phenotype correlation and to the characterization of disease modifiers in epidermolysis bullosa, to the understanding of pathogenetic mechanisms in Netherton syndrome and to the characterization of humoral immune response in pemphigoids and pemphigus.

She has served as Board Member and President of the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR), and is an honorary member of the Society. She has been a member of the “Rare Diseases Task Force (RDTF, European Commission, DG Health and Consumer protection)”, and of the “European Union Committee of Experts on Rare Diseases (EUCERD)”.
She has authored over 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals.