Since joining the Tufts School of Dental Medicine in 2013 as Director of Interprofessional Education, Dr. Patterson has developed multiple programs to promote interprofessional collaboration and effective communication skills within the dental school curriculum. Reinforcing our school’s strong commitment to patient-centered, humanistic oral health care, she has worked to strengthen the behavioral sciences across the pre-doctoral curriculum and has collaborated to create and pilot a comprehensive training approach to pain management and the safe prescribing of controlled substances. A graduate of Boston University School of Medicine, Dr. Patterson also has received training in Health Policy and Management and a master's degree in Health Communication, following a decade of community practice in adult clinical psychiatry.