Dr. Rella Christensen

Currently Rella Christensen, PhD leads TRAC Research. It is part of the non-profit educational Clinicians Report Foundation, formerly called CRA, which she co-founded and directed for 27 years. TRAC Research has been devoted to oral microbiology, minimally invasive dentistry, and dental restoratives research. Throughout her career, Dr. Christensen’s work has been characterized by her development of practice-based controlled clinical protocols which monitor treatments and outcomes as they occur in actual clinical dental offices.

Dr. Christensen earned a PhD in physiology with emphasis on microbiology from Brigham Young University followed by post graduate training under the W.E.C. Moore team, noted pioneers in anaerobic microbiology. Throughout her career Dr. Christensen has taught at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, authored many research abstracts and reports, and received numerous honors such as Distinguished Alumnus of Brigham Young University’s School of Life Sciences; Honorary Doctorate from Utah Valley University (2002), Dental Products Report “Top 25 Women in Dentistry” (2011), Dr. Bicuspid “Most Influential Researcher” (2012), Benco’s Lucy Hobbs Award “Industry Icon” (2020), and Honorary Fellowships from the American College of Dentists, International College of Dentists, Academy of General Dentistry, and American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry.