Alumna D’Souza named to Incisal Edge’s ‘32 Most Influential People in Dentistry’

Rena N. D’Souza, DDS, MS, PhD, a 1985 alumna of UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, has been ranked third in Incisal Edge’s “32 Most Influential People in Dentistry.”

D’Souza was recognized for her leadership role as the director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research at the National Institutes of Health.

A licensed dentist, D’Souza was sworn in as the NIDCR director on Oct. 13, 2020. The NIDCR is the nation’s leading funder of research on oral, dental, and craniofacial health.

As NIDCR director, she oversees the institute’s annual budget of more than $500 million, supporting basic, translational, and clinical research in areas of oral cancer, orofacial pain, tooth decay, periodontal disease, salivary gland dysfunction, craniofacial development and disorders, and the oral complications of systemic diseases.

D’Souza is nationally and internationally known for her research in craniofacial development, genetics, tooth development, and regenerative dental medicine.

Karen West, DMD, MPH, president and CEO of the American Dental Education Association, said of D’Souza in the article, “Dr. D’Souza has worked tirelessly to attain funding for dental education’s research agenda throughout her career.”

Prior to joining the NIH, D’Souza was the assistant vice president for academic affairs and education for health sciences at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. There, she also served as a professor of dentistry, the Ole and Marty Jensen Chair of the School of Dentistry, and professor of neurobiology and anatomy, pathology, and surgery in the School of Medicine’s biomedical engineering department.

D’Souza was selected to be the inaugural dean of the University of Utah’s School of Dentistry. She is a past president of the American Association for Dental Research and the International Association for Dental Research, a fellow of the American College of Dentists, and the recipient of the 2017 American Association for Dental Research Irwin D. Mandel Distinguished Mentoring Award. D’Souza served on the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director in 2013-14 and on NIH study sections.

D’Souza earned a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery from the University of Bombay, India, after which she completed a general practice residency. At UTHealth Houston, she completed her DDS (1985) at the School of Dentistry and earned a master’s in biomedical sciences (1984) and a PhD (1987) from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

She was named the inaugural recipient of the Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award from UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry 2022.