Dr David McReynolds receives Joint First Prize for the Pre-Doctoral Geriatric Oral Research Group (GORG) Award at the 2026 IADR General Session

Congratulations to Dr David McReynolds who has won Joint First Prize for the 2026 Pre-Doctoral Geriatric Oral Research Group (GORG) Award. The winners were announced at the 104th General Session and Exhibition of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) in San Diego, USA last month. Dr McReynolds is a PhD student at Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin and Visiting Research Fellow at TILDA,

This award recognises outstanding contributions to geriatric oral research by emerging scholars and reflects the continued commitment of the GORG leadership to advancing oral health in older adults.

Dr McReynolds presented his first PhD output entitled "Oral Hypofunction in Older Adults in Ireland: TILDA Wave 6 Findings," which found a high prevalence of tooth decay, gum disease and oral hypofunction (a decline in multiple oral functions such as poor oral hygiene, oral dryness and reduced chewing ability) among older adults in the Wave 6 Oral Health Sample. A total of 1,090 participants were examined, with the data suggesting a need for targeted public health strategies to address oral hypofunction among older adults in Ireland.

Speaking after the presentation, Dr McReynolds said: "At this stage of my career, it is very meaningful indeed to have international recognition at the world-leading conference in dental research, IADR. It was a particular honour to receive this award from heroes of mine in the domain of prosthodontics, Professor Murali Srinivasan of Switzerland and Dr Chvartszaid of Canada, whose work I have been avidly following for some years now. I owe a debt of gratitude to my PhD supervisors, Dr Siobhán Scarlett, Professor Lewis Winning, Dr Michael Crowe, Professor Brian O'Connell, Professor Michael O'Sullivan, Regius Rose Anne Kenny and in particular the TILDA participants themselves for their extraordinary dedication and continued support towards this research. A special thanks goes to Professor Brian O'Connell, whose vision it was to build the research infrastructure at TILDA for the Oral Health component of this important research."

Dr McReynolds shared Joint First Prize with Boston University's Dr Krupa Patel for her work on Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Oral Health in Long-Term Care.

Pictured, left to right: Dr Roberto Carlos Castrejón-Pérez (GORG Councillor, Mexico), Associate Professor Katherine Leung (GORG Incoming President, Hong Kong), Dr Krupa Patel (Joint First Prize Winner: Boston University, USA), Dr David McReynolds (Joint First Prize Winner: Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin), Dr Keerthika Natarajan (Singapore), Professor Murali Srinivasan (GORG Outgoing President, Switzerland), Dr David Chvartszaid (GORG Secretary/Treasurer, Toronto).