2021 Awardee: Alexandre Vieira
Prof. Dr. Alexandre Vieira graduated as DDS from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and from a master program in Paediatric Dentistry 1997 during which he investigated fluoride release of glass ionomer cement composite hybrid materials.
His interest in cariology grew from these experiences, and he went on to earn a PhD working on the genetics of cleft lip and palate moving then to a post-doctoral position at the University of Iowa, focusing on human molecular genetics.
Prof. Dr. Alexandre Vieira was successful in getting his first NIH grant at the age of 33, investigating dental developmental problems to analyse gene contributions to children born with cleft lip and palate. With these data, he performed the first genome-wide linkage study on dental caries and brought to light an emphasis that was mostly lacking in cariology, the focus on the identification of the caries-susceptible individual.
His research group became one of the most visible with this approach of looking at genetic variation to suggest an explanation to individual susceptibility to oral disease. He has extended his studies to a number of topics related to cariology, including erosive tooth wear, molar incisor hypomineralisation, and dental fluorosis. Particularly for dental caries, he has looked at defining the disease beyond just the presence of absence of carious lesions, and has worked to unveil disease patterns and trajectories of lifetime disease of individuals to enhance his ability to identify biological aetiological factors for dental caries. He has created the Dental Registry and DNA Repository project, the only one in the world that keeps comprehensive dental clinical descriptions linked to a biological sample (saliva). Currently, the project has more than 6,700 participants.
Prof. Dr. Alexandre Vieira has published more than 350 peer-reviewed papers, editorials, letters to the editor, book chapters and books, recently including the Genetic Basis of Oral Health Conditions published by Springer, which was inspired by his worldwide recognized Craniofacial Genetics course that he has taught for 14 years in Pittsburgh. Also, among his publications, a paper that is the most cited per year in the cleft lip and palate field, and one on the genetics of caries that was the most cited of the year of 2015 in Caries Research.
ORCA Prize Past Awardees
2021 Alexandre Vieira
2020 Eric Reynolds
2019 Not ORCA Prize but Ingve Ericsson Prize was awarded
2018 Gerald L Vogel
2017 Cor van Loveren
2016 Not ORCA Prize but Yngve Ericsson Prize was awarded
2015 Cynthia Pine
2014 David Beighton
2013 Not ORCA Prize but Yngve Ericsson Prize was awarded
2012 Jaime Cury
2011 Peter Shellis
2010 Not ORCA Prize but Yngve Ericsson Prize was awarded
Recipients of the ORCA/Zsolnay Prize
2009 Adrian Lussi
2008 Helen Whelton
2007 George Stookey
2006 Brian Clarkson
2005 Nigel B Pitts
2004 Jorman Tenovuo
2003 Denis O'Mullane
2002 John DB Featherstone
2001 Bente Nyvad
2000 Jaap J ten Bosch
Recipients of the ORCA/Rolex Prize
1999 B. Angmar-Mansson
1998 D. Geddes
1997 W.M. Edgar
1996 A. Rugg-Gunn
1995 H. Luoma
1994 G.N. Jenkins
1993 G. Bowden
1992 G.M. Whitford
1991 P.D. Marsh
1990 K.W. Stephen
1989 C. Dawes
1988 O. Fejerskov
1987 J.P. Carlos
1986 J.M. ten Cate
1985 J. Ekstrand
1984 G. Rolla
1983 F. Brudevold
1982 C. Robinson
1981 J. Arends
1980 H. Held
1978 J. Patz
1977 W.H. Bowen
1976 G.S. Ingram
1975 J.A. Beeley
1974 T. Mikx
1973 L.M. Silverstone
1972 B. Guggenheim
1971 C. Cimasoni
1970 J.M. Birkeland
1969 Y. Ericsson
1968 J.A. Weatherell
1967 S.A. Leach, W.G. Armstrong
1966 A. Boyde, T.M. Marthaler
1965 J.E. Eastoe
1964 K.G. König, H. Schule, R.J. Gibbons