Position: Professor and Associate Dean For Research, UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, Calif.

Organization: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Biography Text: Dr. Hernandez-Kapila completed her professional training at UCSF (DDS, 1990; Periodontology residency, 1994; PhD, 1997; and Postdoctoral training, 1998) before joining the academic ranks as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Periodontology. She started her academic career at UCSF and after seventeen years as a member of the UCSF community, she was recruited to the University of Michigan School of Dentistry where she rose through the academic ranks to Full Professor and became the Founding Director of Global Health Initiatives at the School. UCSF recruited Dr. Hernandez-Kapila back in 2016 and she became the Chair of Periodontology and R. Earl Robinson Distinguished Professor of Periodontology. She recently joined the UCLA School of Dentistry in 2022 as Professor and Associate Dean for Research. Dr. Hernandez-Kapila is a clinician scientist, and academic and research leader with over 30 years of research, teaching/mentoring, clinical, and administrative experience. Dr. Hernandez-Kapila has made seminal discoveries centered around the cell and molecular biology mechanisms that govern periodontal disease pathogenesis and oral cancer carcinogenesis using in vitro and in vivo models, and human clinical studies. Her laboratory has authored >170 peer reviewed publications, in such journals as Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Reviews on Cancer, Cell Death and Differentiation, Cancer, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Journal of Proteome Research, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Genes and Cancer, PLOS Pathogens, Nature Partner Journal Biofilms and Microbiomes, Journal of Controlled Release, Periodontology 2000, and over 100 abstracts/book chapters. She has been continuously funded by NIH for over 25 years and has had addtional funding through foundation grants, industry sponsored innovation awards, and contracts. She has also helped many trainees secure various fellowships and funding awards for their training and research. Her innovative research, mentoring/teaching, service, and leadership accomplishments have been recognized with several major awards including the prestigious American Association for Dental Research (AADR) Edward H. Hatton Award; the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) Balint Orban Award; The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) GSK Innovation in Oral Care Award; the UCSF Chancellor’s Mid-Career Faculty Award; the AAP Sunstar Innovation Research Award, the AAP Distinguished Scientist Award, the AADR Irwin D. Mandel Distinguished Mentoring award, the UCSF Alumni Discovery Award; the UCSF Alumni Medal of Honor Award, the ADA Norton M. Ross Award, the AAP Clinical Research Award, the ADEA William J. Gies Periodontology Award, and induction as a AAAS Fellow. She was also honored by giving the Annual Research Lecture for the UCSF School of Dentistry Research and Clinical Excellence Day. During her years at Michigan and at UCSF, she has worn many hats including running her NIH funded research laboratory, teaching in the graduate and undergraduate Periodontology programs, providing patient care at the local community clinic or faculty practice, directing and overseeing PhD coursework and seminars, and serving on many local and national committees, including service at NIH and NCI as a grant reviewer and council member, and service on committees of the American Academy of Periodontology.