Several faculty and students from the Columbia University School of Dental & Oral Surgery (SDOS) have recently been honored as leaders in their fields. Among the honorees are:
Susan Karabin, DDS, associate clinical professor at the Columbia University SDOS, has been elected Secretary/Treasurer of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and will be installed at the Academy's annual session, which is being held in Orlando from Nov. 14-17, 2004.
AAP is a 7,900-member association of dental professionals specializing in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth and in the placement and maintenance of dental implants. The Academy's purpose is to advocate, educate, and set standards for advancing the periodontal and general health of the public and promoting excellence in the practice of periodontics. Periodontics is one of nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.
Ronnie Myers, DDS, associate dean of clinical affairs at Columbia SDOS, was appointed to the New York State Board of Dentistry as of July 1, 2004. Dr. Myers was appointed by the Regents of the University of the State of New York and will serve for five years on the board, which advises the New York Board of Regents and Education Department on all aspects of professional education, licensing, practice and discipline.
Philip Josephs of Columbia SDOS Class of 2007 has been elected as the Northeast regional student representative to the American Dental Education Association Council of Students, which serves as the voice and advocate for all dental and allied students on a national level.
Mary Beth Giacona, SDOS Class of 2004 and a current pediatric dentistry resident at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, was chosen by the American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD) to receive the Colgate-Palmolive Research Scholarship Award. The award, which was presented at AAWD's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., on July 10, is given annually to junior and/or senior dental students who have shown academic distinction and demonstration of excellence in research. Dr. Giacona's research at Columbia University SDOS focused on the relationship between periodontal pathogens and cardiovascular disease. She examined the capacity of P. gingivalis to induce foam cell formation in human monocyte-derived macrophages in vitro.
Columbia SDOS student Eleni Michailidis, Class of 2006, was honored for her predoctoral research at the 50th anniversary celebration of Columbia's Birnberg Student Research Days on April 21 and 22. Michailidis was given the first prize for her work on "Fine Mapping of the Locus for Autosomal recessive Hypodontia with Associated Dental Anomalies Maps to Chromosome 16q12.1." As a result of the award, Michailidis will represent the school at the 2004 ADA-Dentsply Student Research Competition at the ADA Annual Session in Orlando on Oct. 2-3, 2004.
