NEW YORK--Several students, faculty members, and alumni of Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine recently were honored for their significant contributions to the fields of dentistry and dental education:
STUDENT HONORS
* Three members of CDM's class of 2009 have been chosen as National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Summer Dental Student Awardees. The students are Eugene M Kuo, Derek S Park and Pooria Shahin. The NIDCR SDSA program is an eight-week internship designed to promote the professional careers of talented dental students through exposure to the latest advances in oral health research.
* The American Medical Student Association has honored the Student National Dental Association (SNDA)— the dental school's most active of the student organization for community service —with its "Best Community Service Project" award for National Primary Care Week 2005, an annual event that highlights primary care careers for health care professionals. The SNDA was recognized for its 2005 initiative "Breaking Down Barriers: Health Literacy in Community Health."
* Brothers Saleem (CDM '06) and Phillip Josephs (CDM '07) are two out of only twelve recipients nationwide to receive the American Dental Education Association/ Listerine™ Preventive Dentistry Scholarship, a prestigious $2500 award sponsored by the ADEA and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. This is Saleem Joseph's second such award, having previously won this honor in 2004.
* Angie Chin (CDM '08) and Frederick Liu (CDM '08) recently were named American Dental Association Foundation Scholars, while Abena Asare (CDM '08) and Marvin Baptiste (CDM '08) were designated ADA Foundation Minority Dental Student Scholars. All four were recognized with $2500 awards from the ADA for their history of academic achievement and service to their local community.
* The 2004 Columbia Dental Review was named "Best Student Publication" at the American Dental Editors Association annual session last October, receiving the 2005 Lawrence H. Meskin Journalism Award for Excellence in Dental Student Publications. The Meskin Award is presented annually to a dental student publication in the United States or Canada in recognition of overall excellence in editorial content and design.
FACULTY & ALUMNI HONORS
* Two CDM-affiliated professionals—one full-time faculty member and one alumnus—have been accepted to the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Leadership Institute for 2006-2007. Dr. Laureen Zubiaurre, associate professor of clinical dentistry, and Dr. Vincent B. Ziccardi, CDM '89, will join the Class of 2007 this month. ADEA's Leadership Institute, founded in 2000, is a highly selective, prestigious year-long program whose aim is to develop the nation's most promising dental and allied faculty into future leaders in dental and higher education.
* Dr. Richard K. Yoon, assistant professor of clinical dentistry, was chosen from nearly 350 applicants for a $5000 grant from the American Dental Association Foundation's Harris Fund for Children's Dental Health. Dr. Yoon will use the grant money to underwrite a new project titled "Team Building for Early Childhood Caries Prevention," helping CDM engage local pediatricians and pediatric residents in the identification and referral of children at particular risk for early childhood caries.
* Dr. David Momtaheni, associate clinical professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery, was elected treasurer of the 82nd Annual Greater New York Dental Meeting, one of the largest dental congresses in the world. He has served for the past three years as a committee chairman for the event, which will next take place in November 2006.
* Dr. Jeremy Mao, associate professor of orthodontics, will deliver the D. Ralph Millard, Jr., M.D. Keynote Lecture at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) in Vancouver, Canada, April 2-8,2006. Dr. Mao will discuss stem cell-based reconstruction of craniofacial structures.
* Dr. Bob Tauber (CDM '62) recently was elected secretary/treasurer of the Ninth District Dental Association, New York State Dental Association. Dr. Tauber also has been named president of the Ninth District—which covers oral health professionals in New York's Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam, and Orange counties—beginning in 2008.
* Dr. Allan Formicola, vice dean, Center for Community Health Partnerships and former dean of the College of Dental Medicine, was named a 'Hero' by Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved, a national W.K. Kellogg Foundation initiative. Dr. Formicola was honored for his vision, leadership, and commitment to eliminating disparities in health and healthcare. Dr. Formicola provided the vision and the leadership for the development of the Community DentCare program, which recorded 50,000 patient visits and provided 70,000 school children with critical preventive dental services and treatment in 2005. Under Dr. Formicola's leadership, Community Voices released the first ever Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health. He currently leads Northern Manhattan Community Voices Collaborative in his role as Vice Dean of the Center for Community Health Partnerships at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Formicola also received the American Dental Education Association Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his significant contributions to education, research, and ADEA. Dr. Formicola is a former president of ADEA.
