ECU School of Dental Medicine Professor Leads New Effort to Expand Dental Research
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — At the ECU School of Dental Medicine, one professor is piloting programs to help expand and strengthen the research happening for students and faculty.
Alexandre R. Vieira spent 18 years at the University of Pittsburgh, and two years ago decided it was time for a change.
'I got to a point in my career that I thought I could contribute more. So I look for places where I probably could make a contribution and East Carolina would be a good place because the school here was relatively new. We have about 15, 18 years of the school functioning and it got to a point that now it could establish a more explicit and intensive research program,' Dr. Alexandre R. Vieira, professor and associate dean for research at ECU School of Dental Medicine said.
Up North, he established a protocol where he organized clinical information from patients, and created infrastructure for future research.
'Here I would like to implement a similar protocol, but a more ambitious one, because the way a school is designed, we have our students training across the state. We have eight clinics, but this one here in Greenville, so nine clinics where the students learn dentistry and do their rotations. So we see patients with differences in their needs based on their geographic areas,' he said.
He is piloting this research protocol here in Greenville, and says he wants to bring it to every clinic the ECU School of Dental Medicine has across the state.
'To be able to ask the questions to identify where the problems lie, so we can actually test the hypothesis that might be improving those problems so we can actually help North Carolinians and in the legislature to change policy so they address that properly,' he said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
$1.2 million raised for kids' health care in Eastern N.C.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — The 40th annual Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Celebration Broadcast raised more than $1.2 million dollars to support pediatric care across eastern North Carolina. According to a press statement, the telethon raised an outstanding $1,278,873 to support pediatric care across eastern North Carolina, bringing the cumulative total raised to $35,680,524. 'This year's Celebration Broadcast was incredibly special, marking 40 years of support for Children's Miracle Network and bringing together those who have made a difference,' said Elise Ironmonger, Director of Programs at the ECU Health Foundation. 'It was amazing to reflect on this journey and connect with our dedicated supporters. We also honored the generous businesses, community groups and individuals whose commitment will continue to save lives and bring hope to the children at Maynard Children's Hospital.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Conservation group sues to stop toxic pollution in Cape Fear River Basin
CHAPEL HILL — On behalf of Cape Fear River Watch and Haw River Assembly, the Southern Environmental Law Center recently filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Asheboro and PET plastics manufacturer, StarPet Inc., to stop their discharges of toxic 1,4-dioxane into the Cape Fear River Basin. The city of Asheboro is allegedly dumping a cancer-causing chemical into rivers upstream of drinking water supplies for nearly 900,000 North Carolinians. Much of Asheboro's 1,4-dioxane pollution comes from StarPet, a plastics manufacturer that pays the city to accept its industrial waste, according to the complaint. Asheboro and StarPet's chemical dumping occurs upstream of the drinking water supply for Sanford, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Brunswick County and Pender County, as well as Pittsboro, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina, which have arranged to buy drinking water from Sanford. 'Not only have StarPet and Asheboro done nothing to stop their toxic chemical pollution into the drinking water for North Carolinians living from Sanford to Wilmington—they have the nerve to increase it,' said Jean Zhuang, attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. 'Over the past year, StarPet and the city of Asheboro have doubled down on their cancer-causing 1,4-dioxane pollution, putting thousands of North Carolina families at risk.' In January, StarPet caused Asheboro to release 1,4-dioxane at levels above 3,500 ppb, more than 160 times what is protective of downstream drinking water, a release states. In April, after the Southern Environmental Law Center notified StarPet and Asheboro that their pollution violated federal law, StarPet again allegedly caused Asheboro to discharge 1,4-dioxane at levels above 820 ppb into downstream drinking water sources. StarPet and Asheboro's toxic chemical releases are not random. Following a North Carolina administrative court decision overturning DEQ's attempts to control the city's 1,4-dioxane, Asheboro gave StarPet permission to stop using part of its 1,4-dioxane treatment system, allowing the industry to release untreated waste through the city's wastewater plant and into downstream drinking water. The Clean Water Act requires Asheboro to control industrial pollution before it reaches the wastewater utility, but the city is refusing to do so, according to the release. Stopping pollution at the source so industrial polluters pay is more cost-effective than treating pollution at municipal wastewater treatment plants or downstream drinking water utilities. It also avoids placing the burden of contaminated drinking water on nearby and downstream communities. 1,4-Dioxane is a manmade chemical that is harmful to people at extremely low levels and has been linked to cancers and liver and kidney damage. 1,4-Dioxane is not removed by conventional water treatment. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
ECU School of Dental Medicine Professor Leads New Effort to Expand Dental Research
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — At the ECU School of Dental Medicine, one professor is piloting programs to help expand and strengthen the research happening for students and faculty. Alexandre R. Vieira spent 18 years at the University of Pittsburgh, and two years ago decided it was time for a change. 'I got to a point in my career that I thought I could contribute more. So I look for places where I probably could make a contribution and East Carolina would be a good place because the school here was relatively new. We have about 15, 18 years of the school functioning and it got to a point that now it could establish a more explicit and intensive research program,' Dr. Alexandre R. Vieira, professor and associate dean for research at ECU School of Dental Medicine said. Up North, he established a protocol where he organized clinical information from patients, and created infrastructure for future research. 'Here I would like to implement a similar protocol, but a more ambitious one, because the way a school is designed, we have our students training across the state. We have eight clinics, but this one here in Greenville, so nine clinics where the students learn dentistry and do their rotations. So we see patients with differences in their needs based on their geographic areas,' he said. He is piloting this research protocol here in Greenville, and says he wants to bring it to every clinic the ECU School of Dental Medicine has across the state. 'To be able to ask the questions to identify where the problems lie, so we can actually test the hypothesis that might be improving those problems so we can actually help North Carolinians and in the legislature to change policy so they address that properly,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
