Source: UBC Dentistry

The Canadian Dental Association has presented the Oral Health Promotion Award to the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program (BCOCPP) and to two of its founding pioneers, Dr. Miriam Rosin and UBC alumna and faculty member Dr. Michele Williams (DMD 1988).

Rosin and Williams are part of a team of scientists and clinicians that has worked tirelessly to develop a program that has heightened the awareness of oral cancer, and the need for early oral cancer detection.

They led a working group in creating Guidelines for the Early Detection of Oral Cancer that have been adopted as the standard in this area and have been widely circulated in BC and the rest of Canada.

In addition, their team has established a variety of community outreach programs that are linked to the central BC Cancer Agency/BC Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver General Hospital and the University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentistry.

There has been as special emphasis on outreach to high-risk under-served groups such as the poor, new immigrant populations and the elderly who have limited access to care and information.

Through their work, Rosin and Williams have defined the pathway to reducing the incidence of oral cancer and have led the way to the initiation of research into new technologies to assist in recognizing and diagnosing oral cancer.

Their impact has been broad in the dental community where they have been recognized and in the patient community where early detection using new technology and comprehensive protocols have made huge advances in the prevention of oral cancer.