Dr. Joseph Califano has joined the Department of Periodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago as the new Program Director for the Post-Graduate Clinic.
Originally from New York City, Dr. Califano comes most recently from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where he was a Professor after having previously been Associate Professor and Assistant Professor. Dr. Califano has a long relationship with VCU: it's the place where he completed a DDS, a PhD in Microbiology/
Immunology, and a Periodontics residency.
Now at the UIC College of Dentistry, he brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to his role as Program Director. "I'm excited about lot of things," he said. "In addition to teaching undergrads, I'm looking forward to building relationships with the post-grad students. You can have a mentoring relationship with nine people that you can't have with 360 students." Dr. Califano also is eager to cultivate strong relationships with other specialty postgraduate programs in the College, and to get his lab started¿his interests lie in microbial pathogenesis of periodontal disease.
Dr. Califano comes to Chicago with his wife, Mary Pat, who is working at the UIC College of Nursing, and their son Tony, who is entering seventh grade this fall. The Califanos are happy to be in Chicago. "My colleagues told me, 'you always were a city boy,'" he said. The cultural activities -- especially jazz -- are most attractive to Dr. Califano, who has played jazz guitar longer than he's been practicing dentistry. His son Tony also is taking jazz piano lessons.
Dr. Califano also is a Commander in the Naval Reserves and now is serving at Great Lakes Naval Base north of Chicago.
