2007 Archives

 

January 29, 2007

News@TuftsDental is distributed each month via e-mail to dental school faculty, staff, students and friends. We welcome suggestions, comments, story ideas. Contact Editor Mary-Ellen Marks at mary-ellen.marks@tufts.edu Thank you!

 

Applications to D.M.D. Program Reach Historic High
Applications for the Class of D2011 have surpassed 4,000, the highest number in the school’s history. Nationally, the dental school applicant pool is up almost 10 percent. At Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, applications are up 24 percent, representing a 94 percent increase over the last four years.

The Admissions Office expects to have filled the class by early March because the yield on acceptances has exceeded 60 percent.

O. Walter Donnenfeld Dies at Age 83
Dr. O. Walter Donnenfeld, DG54, clinical professor of periodontology emeritus, passed away suddenly in San Diego on January 15. He was 83.

Donnenfeld completed the Tufts postgraduate program in periodontology in 1954. He joined the dental school faculty in 1961 as an assistant professor. He left Tufts in 1965 to serve as professor and chair of periodontology at Northwestern and then went to the University of Florida, where he held the same positions. Donnenfeld rejoined the Tufts faculty in 1974 as a clinical professor and director of the Postgraduate Program in Periodontology. He served as director of the American Board of Periodontology from 1984 to 1990.

Donnenfeld was named clinical professor emeritus in 1994, when he retired from dentistry to pursue painting full-time. On his website, he described his art as “figuratively abstract with emphasis on composition and color.”

International Student Dies in Automobile Accident
Edilene Silva Evangelista, DI08, died on December 30, 2006, when the SUV she was driving slid off an icy road in Framingham, Mass. A native of Brazil, Evangelista received her D.D.S. degree from Vale Do Rio Doce University in Brazil. She worked full-time for two years as a dental assistant in the Tufts General Practice Residency Program before entering Tufts’ International Student Program in April 2006.

She participated in the career mentoring program and dental outreaches coordinated by the Tufts chapter of the Hispanic Dental Association, directed by Dr. Aidee Herman, associate clinical professor of periodontology.

She is survived by her husband, Sirlei, and daughter, Sarah Jane.

New Finance Director Named
Beth Conant, the dental school’s budget and fiscal officer, has been promoted to director of finance and administration.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Babson College and an MBA from Bentley College. Prior to coming to the dental school last May, she held positions of increasing responsibility in the high-tech sector, most recently as senior financial analyst with OpenPages Inc.

In her brief tenure at Tufts, Conant has brought a strong sense of organization, collaboration and accountability to the school’s financial operations. She is a team builder, a team player and an excellent communicator.

Faculty Member Publishes Nutrition Text
Dr. Carole Palmer, professor of public health and community service, is the editor of a new textbook, Diet and Nutrition in Oral Health (Prentice Hall, second edition). The book is a “comprehensive text [that] encompasses nutritional implications for dental practice. It contains clinical applications and counseling skills, and outlines goals, objectives and relevancy to dentistry sections within each chapter.” Palmer assembled an outstanding team of authors to write the most current, comprehensive resource on diet and nutrition in oral health.

 

Volunteer Heroes 2006
Dr. Richard Doff, D’72, assistant clinical professor, periodontology and Dr. Vincent Mariano, D’82, assistant clinical professor, prosthodontics and operative dentistry, have been named 2006 Volunteer Heroes by the Massachusetts Dental Society. Dr. Laura Glicksman, D’98, DG’00 was also among those recognized.

A New Face at Tufts Dental
Dr. Lynn Solomon has joined the faculty as an assistant professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology. She completed her dental degree, a residency in oral and maxillofacial pathology and a master’s in oral sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.

In 2002, she joined the faculty of SUNY-Buffalo as an assistant professor in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences. During her tenure there, she served as director of the Oral Medicine Clinic, and, most recently, as the director of Oral Radiology. In addition, she was an oral pathology consultant for the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Prosthetics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo and the Veterans Administration of Western New York Healthcare System. During her time in Buffalo, the Dental Student Association bestowed upon her the infrequently given William M. Feagans Award for displaying the “finest aspects of academic dentistry, an appreciation of the demands of real-life dentistry and recognition of the many challenges of a student’s life.”

Solomon is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. She has conducted research and published on oral diseases diagnosed with immunofluorescence microscopy, the role of p63 proteins in autoimmune disease and immunoassay diagnostic techniques. Her office is in the oral pathology suite area, Room DHS-646A (ext. 6-3723).

3 Students Receive ADA Scholarships
Marjan Askari, Lauren Castro and Doug Laliberte, all D09, have been awarded scholarships from the American Dental Association in recognition of their academic accomplishments. Askari and Laliberte received the ADA Foundation Dental Student Scholarship and Castro the ADA Foundation Minority Dental Student Scholarship.

Students Recognized at Yankee Dental
Four Tufts Dental students were recognized during the 2007 Yankee Dental Congress in Boston. Ryan Smart, D07, received the American College of Dentists Award; Farbod Parvinjah, D07, and Melissa Bouvier, D07, received the MDS Foundation/GE Healthcare Financial Services Louis J.P. Calisti Scholarship. Caroline Young, D07, received the Massachusetts Dental Society Matthew Boylan Scholarship fund award, given to a Massachusetts resident and dental student who has distinguished service to organized dentistry and the community.

Diplomate Status
Dr. Lokesh Suri, assistant professor of orthodontics, this month achieved diplomate status with the American Board of Orthodontics.

Oral Surgery Residents Profiled in Alumni Magazine
James Kraus, D06, and Mario Lucca, D02, first-year oral and maxillofacial surgery residents, were profiled in the fall 2006 issue of the Saint Michael’s College alumni magazine in an article titled “The Art, and Heart, of Health Science: Alumni Go Above and Beyond in the Oral Health Care Field.” Both received their undergraduate degrees from the Vermont college.

Senior Promotions
Louis Farrugia, associate professor, Department of General Dentistry
James Hanley, associate professor, Department of Periodontology
Kathryn Ragalis, associate professor, Department of General Dentistry
Paul Trombly, associate clinical professor, Department of General Dentistry

 

 

February 27, 2007

News@TuftsDental is distributed each month via e-mail to dental school faculty, staff, students and friends. We welcome suggestions, comments, story ideas. Contact Editor Mary-Ellen Marks at mary-ellen.marks@tufts.edu Thank you!

 

Scleroderma and Dentistry

David Leader, D85, assistant clinical professor of general dentistry, has rewritten the “Scleroderma and Dentistry” brochure for the National Scleroderma Foundation. The brochure targets dentists as well as those who suffer from scleroderma, a rare, chronic disease characterized by excessive deposits of collagen in the skin or other organs. Approximately 300,000 Americans have the disease. Dentists who read the brochure will become familiar with the disease and learn what they need to know about scleroderma.

Leader became interested in the condition a few years ago and learned that many dentists do not treat patients who have scleroderma. Often, scleroderma will cause the lips and face to tighten, leading to microstomia. This makes oral health care much more difficult, and trips to the dentist can be complicated and uncomfortable. Scleroderma can also cause xerostomia and temporomandibular joint dysfunction. A key part of Leader’s message is that there are no dentists who specialize in the treatment of patients with scleroderma but that all dentists can treat patients with the disease.

Leader has become a regular lecturer at national and regional meetings, including the Yankee Dental Congress, and is the only dentist on the Medical Advisory Board of the New England chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation. The word “scleroderma” comes from two Greek words: “sclero,” meaning hard, and “derma,” meaning skin. For more information, contact http://www.scleroderma.org

Celebrating Black History Month

The Student National Dental Association (SNDA) at Tufts School of Dental Medicine presented “A Celebration of History, Culture, Fashion and Treating the Underserved” on February 22 in honor of Black History Month. Guest speaker Dr. Leo Whitworth, a dentist who practices in Mattapan, gave a presentation on “Access to Health Care and Treating the Underserved.” Students gave presentations on African Americans in dentistry and held a fashion show featuring various garments worn in Africa.

Mission to Serve

Under the leadership of department Chair Catherine Hayes, D87, the directors in the Department of Public Health and Community Service held three retreats to plan strategies for the newly renamed department. Out of the retreats came a new mission statement: “Fostering optimal health and quality of life through good oral health, with a commitment to socially responsible education, patient care, research and community service.”

A Master Teacher

Medha Singh, BDS, MS, an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Service, has completed the Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL) in the Health Professions Program for Dental School Faculty. The ITL is a collaborative partnership between the Academy for Academic Leadership in Atlanta and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry.

“The ITL program is designed to help health professions educators who are early in their academic careers become master teachers,” said Dr. N. Karl Haden, president of the Academy for Academic Leadership. “We congratulate Dr. Singh on her success in this challenging program. Both her institution and the profession will benefit from her enhanced effectiveness and commitment to academic dentistry.”

Clinical Affairs Undergoes Reorganization

To provide enhanced clinic support and service, Clinical Affairs has undergone some changes. Clinical Affairs staff now are grouped according to job functions in four primary areas: Clinic Support, Dental Practice, Patient Finance and Clinic Business.

The Clinic Support group is led by Mary Kyle, who will continue to supervise the Dispensary and Radiology staff, and now, working with Roberto Rios, will be responsible for the central sterilization process and employees.

The Dental Practice group is led by Sherry Wilson-Johnson. The Dental Practice administrators will continue under her supervision, and the Dental Information assistants (first-floor patient registration and record room) will join her group under the guidance of Sean MacDonald.

Diana Jackson-Springer is leading the newly named group Patient Finance. The former Clinic Business Office staff will focus on patient finance and will now include Dawn Lanza and the postgraduate clinic patient finances.

Steve Witkus has been named clinic business manager. Along with infection control and the undergraduate lab, he is responsible for purchasing, financial reporting and materials. Working closely with the school accountants and the Budget Finance Director’s Office, he will refine the school’s financial focus and find opportunities for growth and increased fiscal responsibility.

Maureen Lombard has been named director of Clinical Affairs, reporting to Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs David Russell and Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs James Hanley. This new position combines the former director of clinic operations position and director of clinic services position to combine the Clinical Affairs staff as one team with the common goals of increasing efficiency, strengthening customer service relationships and increasing Tufts’ reputation for excellence.

More News from Yankee Dental

Norman Diamond, associate clinical professor of orthodontics, received the Dr. Frederick Moynihan Memorial Award from the Massachusetts Dental Society at its annual Yankee Dental Congress luncheon on January 26.

Philip Koralishn, associate clinical professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry, and Timothy Hempton, associate clinical professor of periodontology, presented a course titled “Charting and Documentation Workshop: A Hands-on Course” at the Yankee Dental Congress on January 25.

David G. Stahl, D51, received the 2007 James W. Etherington Award in honor of his many contributions to organized dentistry, including serving as president of the New Hampshire Dental Society. The award was presented during the opening ceremonies of Yankee Dental.

Lecturing ‘Down Under’ Gerard Kugel, associate dean for research and professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry lectured this February to the Australian Dental Association in Sydney, to the Melbourne Dental Society and in Auckland to the New Zealand Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Kugel's lectures concentrated on esthetic materials and techniques. He was interviewed by the Australian Dental Association on topics in esthetic dentistry for an upcoming CD from their members.

Mission to Zambia

Gulsun Gul, assistant professor of public health and community service; John Morgan, director of the Tufts Dental Facilities Serving Persons with Special Needs; and Justin Au, D07, along with former members of the Tufts Dental community Patricia Campbell and Kerry Maguire, were in Zambia for the month of December, providing dental care and oral health education at orphanages, community schools and villages. The team was also involved in socioeconomic development in the village of Muchila, bringing in infrastructure for wells, farm cattle, seeds and crops to create a sustainable farm project.

On the Web

Elizabeth Austin has joined Tufts as the web content specialist for the School of Dental Medicine. She earned a B.S. in information design and corporate communication from Bentley College and most recently was the assistant director of web and electronic communication at Lasell College in Newton, Mass. Austin will oversee all content and development projects for the Tufts Dental website: http://www.tufts.edu/dental.

Senior Promotion

Robert Doherty has been promoted to professor, contract track, in the Department of Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry.

 

 

March 30, 2007

News@TuftsDental is distributed each month via e-mail to dental school faculty, staff, students and friends. We welcome suggestions, comments, story ideas. Contact Editor Mary-Ellen Marks at mary-ellen.marks@tufts.edu Thank you!

 

Bates-Andrews Day 2007

Pamela Yelick, director of the Division of Craniofacial and Molecular Genetics and associate professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology, was the keynote speaker at the 2007 edition of Bates-Andrews Research Day, a celebration of students’ research endeavors. Yelick, who earned a Ph.D. in biology from Tufts in 1989, spoke on “Tissue Engineering—The Future Is Here!” at the March 7 event.
The following research projects were recognized:

♦ First Place for Oral Presentation by an M.S. student (tie): Moaz Attar, “In vitro Bonding Strengths Evaluation between Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) and Tetric ceram, Compoglass, Vitra-bond and Opti-bond,” and Fabio Mazzocco, “Prospective Evaluation of the Use of Motorized Ridge Expanders in Guided Bone Regeneration for Future Implant Sites”

♦ Best Postgraduate Poster Presentation (cash prize donated by Jess Kane, David Tesini and Nancy Jo Soporowski): Shiow-Jiin Jaw (Pediatric Dentistry), “In vitro Disinfection of Primary Teeth Root Canal Utilizing Er,Cr:YSGG Laser vs. 5.25% Sodium Hypochlorite by Measuring the Presence of Enterococcus Faecalis”
♦ Best Scientific Research Presentation by a Fourth-year Student (Andrews Society Award): Justin Au, D07, “Public Heath in Zambia”

♦ Procter & Gamble AADR Traveling Fellowship Award (2 awards): Richard Dickinson, D09, and Sarah Stipho, D08, “Vickers Hardness and Compressive Strength Testing of Silk-based Biomaterial,” done with faculty mentors Gerard Kugel, associate dean for research, and David Kaplan, a biomedical engineer at Tufts School of Engineering; and Dean Tiboris, D09, “Gene Expression of Dental Pulp Cells in Three-dimensional Silk Scaffolds,” done with faculty mentor Petros Damoulis

♦ ADA/Dentsply Student Clinician Award for Best Overall Predoctoral Table Clinic: Michael Hull, D08, “Significance of Autologous Fat Graft Placement following Disk Removal in the Temporomandibular Joint,” done with faculty mentor Gerard Kugel in conjunction with Mark Piper (private practice)

♦ Second Place for Pre-doctoral Table Clinic (cash prize donated by Jess Kane, David Tesini and Nancy Jo Soporowski): Sunghwan Ko, D09, “Role of Proinflammatory Cytokines in Sjogren’s Syndrome,” done with faculty mentor Driss Zoukhri

♦ Third Place for Pre-doctoral Table Clinic (Jess Kane, David Tesini and Nancy Jo Soporowski): Marjan Askari, D09, “Development of Antibodies in Chicken to Elucidate the Complex Role of WW45 in Rankl-induced Osteoclast Differentiation,” done with faculty mentors Paul Leavis and Paloma Valverde

♦ Research Committee Award for Basic Science Research: Winna Goldman, D08, “Tumor Stroma Impact on Progression of E-cadherin-deficient Squamous Cell Carcinoma,” done with mentor Jonathan Garlick

♦ Massachusetts Dental Society and ASDA Public Health Award: Amanda Jones, D09, “A Comparative Assessment of Nutrition Status of Patients with Intimate Partner Violence History,” done with faculty mentor Gulsun Gul

♦ Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) Hilde Tillman Award: James Patrick Murphy, D09, “Microenvironmental Control of Cell Survival in E-cadherin-deficient Oral Carcinoma Cells,” done with faculty mentor Jonathan Garlick

IADR/AADR Meeting

Dental school faculty, students and staff presented a total of 36 papers at the annual IADR/AADR meeting, which took place March 21-24 in New Orleans. Moira Casey, D11, research coordinator for Athena Papas, won the J. Morita Corporation Junior Investigator Award in Geriatric Oral Research for the abstract “Root Caries Prevalence in Hypertensive, Sjögren’s Syndrome and Healthy Women.”

Medha Singh (public health) was a finalist for the J. Morita Geriatric Award. Singh’s study, “Comparison of Periodontal Status in Sjögrens, Hypertensive and Healthy Women,” was done in collaboration with Papas and Dr. Robert Gerlach.

TissueEngineering CenterUpdate

The dental school’s Center for Integrated Tissue Engineering (CITE) is pursuing 11 different research projects for a variety of industrial partners, including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Biogen-Idec, Organogenesis and Magen. CITE provides experimental in vitro and in vivo three-dimensional human tissue models that translate discoveries to the clinic as well as test products under development. The center is directed by Jonathan Garlick and Christophe Egles. For more about the center, go to http://www.tufts.edu/dental/CITE.

Garlick has been awarded a new, five-year research grant from the National Institute of Dental Research for the project “Bioengineered Oral Mucosa from Embryonic Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine,” research that is exploring the potential use of human embryonic stem cells in the engineering of human oral mucosal tissues.

Garlick was elected a member of the American Academy of Dental Science. He recently presented a lecture to the Academy titled “Engineering Human Oral Mucosa to Treat Oral Disease” as part of a series on “Tissue Engineering: The Future of Dentistry.”

Into the Clinics

The Clinical Advancement/White Coat Ceremony for the Class of D09 was held on March 10 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Boston. Approximately 600 family members, faculty and staff turned out to celebrate the 154 students in the Class of 2009 as they move to the patient-care phase of their dental education. Tufts President Lawrence S. Bacow brought greetings and gave an introductory address.

This annual ceremony formalizes and symbolizes the transition of pre-doctoral students from basic science, biomedical science and pre-clinical education to the responsibilities of delivering patient care in the school’s clinics. Tufts faculty and alumni were able to help family members in the class don the traditional white lab coat as part of the ceremony. Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs Mark Gonthier was given his own honorary white coat through a unanimous vote by the class.

Thanks go to the offices of Student Affairs and Admissions for making the event a success.

Missionto Nicaragua

For two weeks in February, David Paul, D89 (general dentistry), worked in Nicaragua, leading the dental component of a 30-member team from Tufts schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine and Engineering. He was joined by three members of the Class of 2007: Ian Fessler, Catherine Kalis and Marcin Jarmoc.

The team lived and worked in the rural community of Tanazda, a village of 200 that has no electricity, running water, bathroom facilities or access to dental care. The team treated hundreds of patients in 90-degree heat, without the aid of proper lighting, running water, suction or radiographs. They gave preventive and oral hygiene instruction and extracted more than 500 teeth. This was the third year of a five-year commitment from Tufts University to this impoverished region of northeast Nicaragua.

Faculty Notes

Joel Pearlman, D74, (public health), authored a chapter titled “Medical Care for Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities” for the second edition of Dentistry, edited by I. Leslie Rubin, M.D., and Allen C. Crocker, Ph.D., and published by the Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Charles Rankin, D79, DG86, (endodontics), published “A Case Report of a Patient with Raynaud’s Phenomenon Undergoing Multiple Endodontic Procedures” in the Journal of Endodontics (2007, 33:2, 187-190).

Morton Rosenberg, D74, (oral and maxillofacial surgery), directed three courses : “Enteral Sedation for the General Practitioner,” “Anesthesia Assistant” and “Update in Pharmacology for Deep Sedation/General Anesthesia” for the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology in Las Vegas February 23-25 for more than 700 participants. He also led a pilot course for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry in “High Fidelity Human Simulation for Pediatric Medical Emergencies” in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Pamela Yelick, G89, (oral and maxillofacial pathology) has accepted an invitation from the NIH Cente