Press Releases

Azeez Alade Named Recipient of the Inaugural IADR Smile Train Cleft Research Award

Alexandria, VA, USA, June 22, 2022 – The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) announced that Azeez Alade, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA, is the recipient of the inaugural IADR Smile Train Cleft Research Award. Alade was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the virtual 100th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR, held in conjunction with the 5th Meeting of the Asia Pacific Region on June 20-25, 2022.

Alade trained as a dental surgeon at the University of Lagos Nigeria and worked as a dentist for two years (Internship and National Youth Service) before applying to the University of Iowa to study genetic epidemiology. While working as a dental officer at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, he was part of the cleft management team. He is currently in the genetic epidemiology PhD program where his research focuses on the identification of genes associated with orofacial cleft in the African population.

Alade applied his knowledge of the African Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) on NSOFCs to investigate the role of low frequency/rare variants, gene-gene interaction, and pleiotropy. The results from these works have been presented at local and international scientific conferences. Furthermore, Alade spearheaded the project “Non-random Distribution of Deleterious Mutations in the DNA and Protein-binding Domains of IRF6 associated with Van Der Woude Syndrome” (a syndromic form of orofacial cleft) which was published in 2020. He has collaborated on several other genetic projects which are currently in various stages of publication and development.

The IADR Smile Train Cleft Research Award is jointly sponsored by IADR and Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused organization with a model of true sustainability. For over 20 years, Smile Train has supported safety and quality cleft care for more than 1.5 million children and will continue to do so until every child in need has access to the care they deserve.

IADR and Smile Train recognize the need for investigators to produce cleft-related research that can be applied to clinical practice and be used to maintain and improve the oral health and quality of life of children with clefts. The Award is intended to help investigators pursue innovative and novel research that involves the oral health of children with clefts.

View a PDF for this press release online.


About IADR
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with over 10,000 individual members worldwide, with a Mission to drive dental, oral and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being worldwide. To learn more, visit www.iadr.org.

About Smile Train:
Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children's lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach has both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.