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The European Association of Osseointegration Basic Research Prize for 2011 goes to the Periodontology Unit, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London.

Dr. Nikos Mardas, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Periodontology Unit, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, won the prestigious Basic Research Prize, awarded annually by the European Association for Osseointegration (EAO). The awarded study was entitled "Novel purmorphamine/β-TCP filled degradable polymer membrane for GBR" and evaluated in a preclinical model the efficacy of a novel GBR barrier technology able to control release an osteogenic pathway agonist for the treatment of osseous defects.

The presented study was the result of successful translational research collaboration between the departments of Periodontology, Biomaterials and Biostatistics in UCL, Eastman Dental Institute and the Heinrich Heine Universität in Düsseldorf, Germany (F Schwarz, AR Hakimi). The study was funded by an MRC Grant (£123,000) P.I.: Paul Buxton, Co-applicants: Anne Young and N Mardas.

The prize was awarded during the last day of the 20th Annual Scientific Congress of the EAO that took place during October 12-15, 2011, in Athens, Greece. Dr Mardas shared the 1st prize with Dr Andreas Stavropoulos, Dept. of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of Aarhus. Dr Stavropoulos, who is also an ITI fellow, participated with the study entitled "Influence of peri-implant bone composition on progression of peri-implantitis".

The two winners were selected among 10 finalists, which had earlier been selected from nearly 500 abstracts submitted to the EAO Congress.