Dr. Dave Vigerust
1. What makes you excited to go to work each day?
To have the opportunity to impact the health and wellness of patients with innovative and cutting-edge diagnostic solutions for the dental and medical communities. I have been the founder and CSO of a variety of clinical Dx laboratories, and we have developed many novel assays for the benefit of patients with and for the prevention of diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
2. What are you most proud of professionally?
I have had the blessing of working with some outstanding medical and dental collaborators and, in working with them, we have defined several important mechanisms of chronic disease that arise from the mouth. I have wonderful mentors and colleagues and have also had the pleasure of doing a TED Talk on the benefits of precision medicine. Precision medicine and precision dentistry are the next steps in prevention and disease treatment.
3. What’s the biggest challenge facing dental education and/or dentistry today?
In my view, educating the dental community about the power of diagnostics and how Dx data can help to better define and guide the best therapy. Dentistry has never deployed diagnostics in the same way as medicine and, as such, the technologies that are common in medicine have yet to benefit the dental community.
4. What’s the ultimate comfort meal for you?
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and key lime pie.
5. What do you look forward to outside of work?
I enjoy a variety of outdoor activities; my favorites are cycling and kayaking with family.