College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics

Kyungsup Shin, the Ross D. Christensen Family Professor of Orthodontics and Graduate Program Director, spoke on a panel during the annual meeting of the American Board of Orthodontics in St. Louis.

Rachel Fitzjerrells a T90 trainee in the Iowa Institute of Oral Health Research and a PhD student in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, was awarded an F31 grant.

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics was voted by the community as Iowa City's best dental clinic.

Iowa Dentistry hosted the Midwest Dental Public Health Conference on October 15-16, 2023. With lectures from dental public health experts around the country and throughout the Midwest, the conference was a great success.

For the second consecutive year, the University of Iowa College of Dentistry's Dental Admissions Office set a record for most dental school applications received.

Jeff Marschall has recently joined the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as a clinical assistant professor. In addition, he holds a dual appointment in the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

Kirk Fridrich, head of the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), was named a Patient’s Choice Provider for FY23.

The Iowa Mission of Mercy was held on October 13-14 in Waterloo. Over the weekend, the dentists and dental staff saw 1,080 patients. All dental care at the event is provided for free to those who come and are willing to wait. Services provided to the patients include cleanings, restorations, minor oral surgery, endodontic and periodontal care as well as removable prosthodontics (e.g., “flippers”).

Professor Dan Caplan, a 1988 graduate of the College of Dentistry and head of the college’s Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry from 2007- 2022, is named 2023 Educator of the Year. For Dan, who grew up in Iowa City in a family that valued education, the opportunity to shape future dentists and the school that teaches them has been a gratifying experience.

Kyungsup Shin was named the Ross D. Christensen Family Professor of Orthodontics on September 21. Shin is a shining example of Iowa's excellence in research, teaching, and clinical care.

Janet Guthmiller, dean of the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry and a 1988 graduate of Iowa Dentistry, has been named Leader of the Year 2023. Janet was a faculty member at Iowa from 1997 to 2007 and credits this experience, and others in academia, with preparing her to take on top-tier leadership roles.

Bob Williams (73 DDS), a longtime supporter and advocate for Iowa Dentistry, was named 2023 Alumnus of the Year, an honor he says he is humbled to receive.

Sivaraman Prakasam has joined the dental faculty at Iowa and been named chair of periodontics. With a strong department under Prakasam’s leadership, the Department of Periodontics will continue to excel in clinical care, teaching, and research.

Aline Petrin’s research on identical twins has shed led on the epigenetic causes of orofacial clefting. Her new study explores the epigenetic causes of mirrored clefting among twins.

Azeez Butali is extending his research on the genetics of orofacial clefts in African populations so that his team improve the reception and acceptance of genetic information found in their studies.

The dental track of the Summer Health Professions Education Program showcases careers in dentistry for undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. Since 2017, this highly competitive program has served over 120 students helping to prepare them for dental school and a future career in dentistry.

The National Institutes of Health via the University of Kentucky awarded Azeez Butali and Erliang Zeng a grant to identify genome-wide genetic susceptibility variants around the world.

Iowa Dentistry's trainee programs has been continuously funded for over 15 years, preparing the next generation of researchers in oral, dental, and craniofacial science.

Huojun Cao and Eric Van Otterloo are investigating the genetic underpinnings of tooth development. The long-term goal of their work is to better understand tooth development so that new regenerative treatments for teeth can be developed.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) awarded Hongli Sun, Kyungsup Shin, and their co-principal investigator a $235K Interdisciplinary Scholars grant for their project investigating a novel approach to to orofacial cleft reconstruction.

Iowa Dentistry and the His Hands Clinic in Cedar Rapids, under dental director Jeff Akey ('87 DDS) began a new partnership this year offering clinical outreach experiences for second-, third-, and fourth-year dental students on select Saturday mornings.

The University of Iowa was one of four research institutions, along with Michigan, Duke, and Indiana, collaborating on a newly-funded National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)/ National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant investigating the causes and implications of adolescent tooth decay, especially among underserved populations.

From our career-retired military dentists who spend the second half of their career teaching at Iowa to our veteran students, from our esteemed alumni who carry on the Iowa legacy throughout their military careers to our veteran patients who wouldn’t have access to dental care without our college, Iowa Dentistry is committed to those who have served in the United States armed forces.

Tim Nguyen, a T90 trainee in the Iowa Institute of Oral Health Research and a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics, was awarded an F31 grant.

The college’s Clinical/Dental Education Research Initiative Support Program (CRISP) selected Joseph Curtis's pilot study assessing various modern methods of the design and fabrication of custom edentulous impression trays and record bases. This purpose of the study is update the third-year curriculum incorporating more modern, digital components into the denture design process.

On Thursday, April 27, Governor Kim Reynolds signed the Dentists and Dental Hygienists Licensure Compact bill into law.

The Class of 2026 was granted faculty-supervised clinical privileges on Thursday, April 27 at the 2023 White Coat Ceremony.

Hongli Sun, associate professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, was one of four Iowa faculty members to receive the 2023 Iowa Mid-Career Faculty Scholar Award. The award recognizes some of the most promising scholars at Iowa with three years of financial support for their research. Sun is a rising star in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering, focusing on innovative strategies to improve bone tissue regeneration. 

The Academy of Osseointegration awarded I-Ching (Izzie) Wang, clinical assistant professor of periodontics, and Anvita Maharishi, assistant professor of family dentistry, a $30,000 translational and clinical science research grant for their project, Correlation Between Peri-implant Mucosa Color and Tissue Dynamics: Phenotype and Health Recognition Using Dental Ultrasonography.

A team of University of Iowa oral health researchers and dental providers at the Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa teamed up to deliver and assess the effectiveness of teledentistry in a nursing home setting.

The National Dental Foundation and Colgate awarded Abimbola Oladayo, a postdoctoral researcher in Azeez Butali’s laboratory, a scholarship to support her research on ethical issues related to the handling of genetic information obtained through she and her team’s research.

On a recent trip to rural Mexico, Iowa dental students and faculty provide dental care to children in schools and orphanages in the area.

In January 2023, Iowa orthodontics faculty published Practical Early Orthodontic Treatment: A Case-Based Review. The text is receiving rave reviews and is sure to become the definitive textbook in the orthodontic treatment of children.

Building on the University of Iowa College of Dentistry’s longstanding experience of university-industry collaboration, Fabricio Teixeira, professor and head of the Department of Endodontics, is working with the medical equipment manufacturer SONENDO of California, to evaluate a new piece of specialized equipment that SONENDO has developed called GentleWave.

Drawing from resources and opportunities at Iowa and the National Institutes of Health, Aline Petrin is conducting novel research involving twins that could shed light on the causes of orofacial clefting.

The college’s Clinical/Dental Education Research Initiative Support Program (CRISP) selected Aaron Cho and An Yi Ma’s pilot study investigating the use of intra-oral scanners for use in measuring posts for crown places. This study lays the foundation for further studies to clarify and define the efficacy and limitations of intra-oral scanner use in creating post space impressions.

Third-year dental student Mary Young has made the most of her research opportunities at Iowa to make a difference in understanding the genetics of orofacial clefting for African and other populations. Already with several major awards and fellowships, the future is bright for Young.

Over the course of four years, the University of Iowa has been establishing an innovative oral cavity cancer program drawing from faculty researchers and clinicians across campus. The holistic approach of the team encompasses the entire spectrum of oral cavity cancer research and is guided by their goal of improving patient outcomes. As a result, Iowa is poised to be a global leader in oral cavity cancer research.

Azeez Butali was one of two Iowa faculty named a 2022 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS is the world’s largest general-scientific society and publisher of the journal, Science. Butali is a professor of oral pathology, radiology, and medicine, and world’s foremost expert in the genetics of cleft lip and palate among African populations.

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry is pleased to announce the 2023 Seed Grant Awards. This is the third year of the seed grant program, and these grants fund innovative projects from early-career investigators or established investigators who are developing a new line of research.

The National Institutes of Health awarded Shaoping Zhang, assistant professor of periodontics, and his team a 5-year, $1.95 million R01 grant to assess and understand the role of type I interferon (IFN-I) in periodontal disease. This major research project is part of Iowa Dentistry’s efforts to advance research and discovery—producing novel translational research that can treat those who suffer from periodontitis.

As an alumnus, a gifted clinician, and a cutting-edge researcher, Clark Stanford is ready to get to work as the dean of his alma mater and to build on its legacy and strengths as it becomes Iowa's dental hospital.

In November, 84 dental students role-played the experiences of low-income patients as part of the College of Dentistry's annual poverty simulation. This simulation helps students develop cognitive and affective empathy which enhances their ability to plan treatments that patients can realistically implement.

The 2022 American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) held its 108th Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona from October 27 to October 30. The University of Iowa Department of Periodontics had excellent participation with numerous invited speakers and recognitions.

The Iowa Mission of Mercy was held this past weekend, November 4 and 5, in Des Moines. Over the weekend, the dentists and dental staff saw 1,083 patients, completing 6,732 procedures, which amounted to $1,013,563.44 worth of care. Over 100 students, several residents, and over 20 faculty and staff turned out to support the free clinics.

On October 13, students from the UI REACH program learned about oral health and received one-on-one tooth brushing instructions from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry.

The Osteology Foundation awarded I-Ching Wang, associate professor of periodontics, an almost $30K Young Researcher Grant for her project, Ultrasound-based Imaging to Detect Early Changes of Hard and Soft tissue Around Immediately Placed Implants With or Without Soft Tissue Augmentation.

For almost 20 years, Ann Synan has been a committed advocate for dental patients, especially those who face barriers limiting access to care. As a result, she has become a fount of institutional knowledge in all things in the college, but especially so with patient care. The University of Iowa Dental Alumni Association and the College of Dentistry are proud to recognize Ann Synan’s contributions with the 2022 Honorary Recognition of the Year Award.

Because his teaching and mentoring has made a significant impact at Iowa and in Dental Public Health, the University of Iowa Dental Alumni Association and the College of Dentistry have selected John Warren as the 2022 Educator of the Year.

The University of Iowa Dental Alumni Association and the College of Dentistry are proud to recognize Rebecca Slayton as the 2022 Alumnus of the Year.

The University of Iowa Dental Alumni Association and the College of Dentistry are proud to recognize Rebecca Slayton as the 2022 Alumnus of the Year.

Building on his February 2020 NIH grant, Azeez Butali, professor in the Department of Oral Pathology, Radiology, and Medicine, was awarded a $133,526 supplemental award to identify the mental health challenges among African mothers and their children affected by orofacial clefts.

The Nakao Foundation awarded Akimasa Tsujimoto a 90K+ grant to compare outcomes of four restorative materials—glass hybrid, conventional glass ionomer cement, resin-modified glass ionomer cement, and resin-based composition restorations—among adults age 65 or older. In particular, the researchers are evaluating whether glass ionomer-based restorations may have superior clinical outcomes for this population than resin-based composite restorations.

The college’s Clinical/Dental Education Research Initiative Support Program (CRISP) selected Hong Chen and John Warren’s pilot study investigating temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and overall health among college students. This study lays the foundation for a further National Institutes of Health exploratory research grant with the long-term aim of improving prevention and early detection of TMD.

The National Institutes of Health awarded Steven Levy and his research team a $325K grant to identify factors that are associated with improved oral health-related quality of life through early adulthood among those who participated in the Iowa Fluoride Study. This is the first study that will make predictions about oral-health related quality of life based on longitudinal data.

At the All-College Meeting on August 15, Kyungsup Shin was presented with the James H. and Hermine E. McLeran Faculty Award. This award recognizes a faculty member who has shown a commitment to dental education through excellence in teaching and an emphasis on patient-centered care. Kyungsup personifies these attributes as he guides his students to achieve their highest potential in the classroom, clinic, and laboratory.

The Japanese company, GC Corporation, awarded Akimasa Tsujimoto a grant to investigate evaluate the fatigue bond strength to enamel and dentin of their new 2-step universal adhesive comparing it to other representative adhesives. This project shows the value of industry-academic partnerships to meet industry needs and improve clinical practices.

The National Institutes of Health recently announced a $3.2M R01 grant awarded to Dr. Kyungsup Shin and his research team to develop a new approach to reconstruction of orofacial clefts using personalized biomimetic scaffolds. This project is one component of a larger project developing more effective treatments for children born with cleft lip and palate.

The college’s Clinical/Dental Education Research Initiative Support Program (CRISP) supported John Syrbu’s project on the impact of digital photography on laboratory-fabricated dental restorations to support the college’s clinical research mission. This project will be the first quantitative measure of the influence of digital photography in shade matching and lays the foundation for establishing clinical guidelines for practice.

The Japanese company, Kuraray, awarded Akimasa Tsujimoto a grant to investigate whether their newly developed light-cure resin luting cement will effectively reduce wear and prevent gap formations between ceramic veneers and teeth. This project shows the value of industry-academic partnerships to meet industry needs and improve clinical practices.

Advances in dental care occur because of a strong clinical research program. The college’s Clinical/Dental Education Research Initiative Support Program (CRISP) supported a project currently led by Rohit Nair on the factors that are clinically associated with dry mouth (xerostomia) among older adults. The goal is, ultimately, to improve dental care for older adult patients suffering from dry mouth.

The 2022 IASDA Pre-Dental Summer Academy was a great success! For three days at the end of June, a group of students from all over the country came to Iowa to learn about dental school and the application process while gaining some hands-on experience simulating life as a dental student.

The college is proud to announce the appointment of Aaron Cho, as the next department head of prosthodontics at the University of Iowa. Cho will start this new role beginning on August 29, 2022.

The dental track of the Summer Health Professions Education Program showcases careers in dentistry for undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. Since 2017, this highly competitive program has served over 100 students helping to prepare them for dental school and a future career in dentistry. Jonelle Joseph and Hannah Malloy are two graduates of this unique and immersive educational experience, and both have helped with the program over the last two summers.

Azeez Alade, a PhD candidate in genetic epidemiology, specializes in identifying rare genetic factors associated with orofacial clefts in African populations. The IADR and Smile Train awarded Alade $75K to support his dissertation research.

On June 22, Dean Clark Stanford presented Marcos Vargas, professor in family dentistry, with the 2022 Collegiate Teaching Award. This award recognizes a faculty member who exhibits an “outstanding contribution to dental students’, graduate students’ or residents’ intellectual and professional development.”

At the American Association of Orthodontists Annual Meeting in May, orthodontics residents from the University of Iowa presented orthodontics cases of patients they have treated during their time at Iowa. Since 2014, Iowa has placed well in every such competition, including second place this year.

Jason Semprini, a T90 trainee in Iowa Institute of Oral Health Research and a Ph.D. student in the College of Public Health, was awarded a F31 grant—a training grant for mentored dissertation research for his project, Evaluating the Impact of Medicaid Dental Coverage on Early-Stage Oral Cancer Detection.

Several fourth-year dental students received awards for their efforts as dental students. Dean Clark Stanford presented the awards to Abigail Wieland, JoElla Guagliardo, and Emily Starman.

The 2022 Iowa Dental Association's annual meeting (IDEAS) was held at the end of April in Des Moines. The University of Iowa held an alumni reception at the annual meeting, and since it was the first in-person annual meeting since the pandemic began, the event announced and presented numerous award winners, which including many Hawkeyes! 

Fourth-year dental students Chichi Adeleke and Megha Puranam both received awards at the Center for Inclusive Academic Excellence Graduation Reception. Adeleke received the Dean's Achievement Award, and Puranam received the Student Leadership Award. Puranam also delivered the keynote address at the reception.

Butali serves as a mentor to numerous other students and researchers, and on May 12, he received a Faculty Award recognizing those efforts. Butali’s students shared their appreciation with the Hawkeye Smile for their mentor.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are the second-most common form of musculoskeletal pain, affecting up to one-third of Americans. Iowa dental faculty are on the cutting-edge of TMD care and are leading the way in ensuring that dental students receive adequate and proper education for understanding, preventing, and treating TMD.

The dental equipment and supplies company, Dentsply Sirona, awarded Chris Barwacz a $160,000+ award to evaluate outcomes for a newly designed implant. The study will evaluate outcomes associated with dental implants, and it shows how a mutually beneficial relationship between the college and industry partners improves patient care.

Leon Stanislav ('77 DDS) received the 2022 Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, American Dental Association, and Center for Disease Control Fluoridation Special Merit Award.

Phoenix Dental awarded Ariene Leme-Kraus and Marcos Vargas a $15,000 grant for their project In Vitro Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Potassium Oxalate Dental Desensitizer Formulas. This collaboration shows the value of academic-industry collaboration between the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and its industry partners.

For 34 years, Ana Diaz-Arnold (’84 G.P.R., ’87 M.S.) has been a fixture in the Department of Family Dentistry, teaching countless fourth-year dental students, mentoring and working alongside adjunct faculty, and treating her own patients, and as she retires in June 2022, her impact on the college and the dental profession in Iowa will remain long afterward.

On April 7 and 14, students from the UI REACH program learned about oral health and received one-on-one tooth brushing instructions from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry.

A large contingent of University of Iowa College of Dentistry faculty, students, and alumni attended and presented at the National Oral Health Conference April 11-13 in Fort Worth, TX.

The National Institutes of Health awarded Karin Weber-Gasparoni and her team a $4.4 million grant to evaluate a set of interventions designed to improve oral health care and reduce the risk of cavities among low-income high-caries risk infants and young children.

On April 12, Karin Weber-Gasparoni, professor and chair of Pediatric Dentistry, was presented with the University of Iowa's Hancher-Finkbine Medallion for Faculty Excellence.

For Iowa dental students, their fourth-year curriculum simulates aspects of a private practice environment. This experience successfully prepares Iowa graduates to practice dentistry independently. The approximately thirty adjunct faculty in Family Dentistry are the engine for Iowa’s success. These faculty members mentor fourth-year students as they go from novice clinical beginners to competent and independent clinicians.

Aparna Shivanand Ingleshwar was awarded first place for the 2022 Leverett Graduate Student Merit Award by the American Association of Public Health Dentistry for Outstanding Achievement in Dental Public Health.

Dean Stanford graciously sat down for an interview to discuss how it feels to be back at Iowa and his priorities over the coming weeks and months.

On April 1, Clark Stanford returned to his alma mater to become the 14th dean of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. He holds the Edwin Green Chair in Dental Leadership, and most recently served as dean of the College of Dentistry at the University of Illinois Chicago.

A German Pharmaceutical company awarded Ariene Leme-Kraus and Erica Teixeira a $10,000 grant for their project investigating the effectiveness of a newly developed glass-ionomer dental material. In particular, the project will evaluate whether this novel dental material can effectively be used to treat root tooth decay.

Second-year dental students Frank Boksa and Mary Young have been awarded NIH Summer Dental Student Research Awards to conduct research at the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research in Maryland.

Steve Levy and Chandler Pendleton received a new grant to analyze data obtained from the Iowa Fluoride Study using a new statistical analysis tool that can improve understanding and identify relationships between caries and fluorosis.

Starting with our first female graduate, Jessie Ritchey, in 1887 and continuing to this day, Iowa has proven itself a trailblazer for women in dentistry. The Class of 2024 is the first in the University of Iowa College of Dentistry’s history to have more female students than male students—helping move the national dentistry workforce closer to gender parity.

During the 2022 ADEA Annual Session on March 21, the ADEAGies Foundation presented the University of Iowa with a 2022 William J. Gies Award for Achievement for Academic Dental Institutions. This award recognizes Iowa’s cutting-edge Geriatric and Special Needs Program, led by director Howard Cowen, the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation Professor in Geriatrics and Special Needs.

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics hosted a Give Kids A Smile event on Friday night, February 25, at the Iowa Children’s Museum in the Coral Ridge Mall. Thirty-two children received free oral health education, dental screenings, fluoride treatments, and they took home bags of oral hygiene supplies.

A Japanese dental materials and equipment manufacturer awarded Akimasa Tsujimoto, associate professor of Operative Dentistry, an $18,000 grant for his project evaluating the bonding performance of newly developed self-adhesive resin luting cement which can be used with or without a universal adhesive to various substrates. The aim is to determine whether this resin luting cement can improve the durability of dental esthetic restorations.

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics is a national leader in NIDCR research funding, dental education research, and the amount of patient care experiences that dental students receive.

Sukirth Ganesan and his team are using a multi -omics approach to study the relationship between periodontal disease and metabolic syndrome. The National Institutes of Health awarded them a R03 grant for over $300,000 for this project. The project will determine the precise relationship between these conditions, which could help prevent disease or provide early indicators of disease and possible avenues for treatment at an early stage of the condition.

The nonprofit organization, Smile Train, awarded Iowa professor Azeez Butali a $40,000 grant to study the genetic causes of cleft lip and palate among the Zulu population in South Africa. Butali is an internationally recognized expert in the genetics of cleft lip and palate, particularly among African populations. Butali is working with Thriona Naicker, a trained Medical Geneticist and PhD student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Butali serves as Naicker’s mentor for his dissertation research.

Rufus P. Beshears (1909) and Rosalie Reddick Miller (1958) were two of the first Black graduates of the College of Dentistry. Black history month at the College of Dentistry is an opportunity for us to look at our past, celebrate the accomplishments of our esteemed alumni, and drive us to become a more inclusive community for our students, alumni, staff, and faculty.

For 50 years, the Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic has served the local community and partnered with the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. Numerous College of Dentistry faculty, staff, and students have been vital to the success of the free dental clinic.

Clark Stanford, distinguished professor and dean of the College of Dentistry at the University of Illinois Chicago, has been named dean of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. He also will hold the Edwin Green Chair in Dental Leadership and will begin on April 1.

After working as a dental hygienist for several years, PhD candidate Jennifer Sukalski began pursuing health disparities research on access and use of dental care in Iowa. Her research looks at barriers to dental care in a holistic manner taking into account perceived social status.

Palliative care is a specialized form of health care that attempts to meet the needs of the whole patient, taking into account each patient’s values and goals to make informed decisions about managing pain and treatments. Xi Chen is bringing insights about palliative care to dentistry, focusing on improving oral health awareness, relieving pain, and helping a patient live as well as possible for the rest of their life.

Bob Williams (’73 D.D.S.) and Jerilee Williams generously donated $150,000 to the Operative Dentistry Advanced Education Program to support, promote and achieve excellence in Operative Dentistry through enhanced training opportunities provided through the Advanced Education Program and its residents.  

The University of Iowa Public Policy Center's Patient-Centered Dental Home project is designed to improve the organization and delivery of dental care in a variety of care settings and in an integrated manner with other health care services. As part of this project, the PPC developed an interactive, online PCDH Clearinghouse of approximately 500 oral health quality measures and standards, which is now available.

Emily Lanzel received a grant in collaboration with the University of Chicago to use digital pathology slides to improve machine learning algorithms for use as a tool to evaluate the risk of cancer.

A particular species of grass that is common across the Great Plains in the United States has many genetically different strains. These strains respond differently to drought and related environmental challenges, and Erliang Zeng, associate professor in the Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research, is working with a biologist at Kansas State University, to develop computational modeling and bioinformatic tools for data analysis to identify drought-resistant genes and their patterns in strains of the grass. The overall aim of the research is to improve our understanding of the mechanism about how organisms adapt to severe conditions such as drought and recommend traits for further genetic development.

The University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center announced their Fall Innovation Challenge Awards, which included two dentistry-related proposals. These awards are aimed at identifying and supporting the most innovative and entrepreneurial projects in a university-wide competition. Dentistry's award winners were Salah Abuhammoud and Melika Farshard.

The past twenty-six years have been a testament to the lasting influence of the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics' “together accomplishments” during David Johnsen’s tenure as dean. As Johnsen steps down from his role as dean, he leaves Iowa’s only dental college and thus the profession of dentistry in Iowa in capable hands with a proud legacy and bright future.

On October 7, Interim Dean Galen Schneider presented Kecia Leary, clinical associate professor and graduate program director for the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, with the 2021 Collegiate Teaching Award. This award recognizes a faculty member who exhibits an “outstanding contribution to dental students’, graduate students’ or residents’ intellectual and professional development.”

Mississippi native Roy L. Irons (’76 D.D.S.) came to Iowa in 1972. Coming from humble beginnings, Irons made the most of the opportunities presented to him, and he has become a leader in the dental profession in Mississippi and the nation while dedicating himself to being a resource and example for the community, particularly those who lack support and opportunities.

Throughout her dental education and career, Judy Greenlea Taylor (’91 D.D.S.) has made it her mission to improve public and oral health for underserved populations—whether through leadership roles in organizations dedicated to that cause, in providing excellent care to her patients, mission trips, or in service to her state and local community.

For 34 years, Dr. Ana Diaz-Arnold (’84 G.P.R., ’87 M.S.) has been a fixture in the Department of Family Dentistry, teaching countless fourth-year dental students, mentoring and working alongside adjunct faculty, and treating her own patients, and as she retires in June 2022, her impact on the college and the dental profession in Iowa will remain long afterward.

An accomplished oral surgeon, Kim Swanson (’81 BA, ’86 DDS) is a dedicated alumna who has left a mark in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery and in the dental profession more widely.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Matthew Remy, a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering, a F31 grant to support his dissertation project, “Bone Regeneration Induced by the Sustained Release of Osteoinductive microRNAs from 3D-printed Constructs.”

As the course director for the fourth-year Dental Emergency Course, Alberto Gasparoni exemplifies the characteristic features embodied in the James H. and Hermine E. McLeran Faculty Award and the namesakes for the award—a passionate commitment to dental education focused on excellence in teaching and patient-centered care.

The Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation awarded Dr. Leonardo Marchini a grant to support the final step in the development of a tool to measure the degree of ageism among dental students. The tool will be used to develop and evaluate specific strategies for addressing ageism among dental students with the goal of improving the oral health of older adults.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) awarded Cristina Vidal, assistant professor in the Department of Operative Dentistry, a 5-year grant totaling over $700K for her research project studying the relationship between caries and the oral microbiome.

The BigMouth Dental Data Repository is a comprehensive database of electronic health records provided by dental schools in a partially de-identified manner. Eleven major dental schools are currently participating with Iowa joining in 2020. This repository can be used for high-powered research using information collected from each of the participating institutions, and is a promising avenue for big data research.

In 2020, the University of Iowa was ranked 10th in the country for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) funding, and 2nd in the Big 10, with over $6.4M in funds awarded.

Dr. Sukirth Ganesan, assistant professor in periodontics, and a team of researchers in the Carver College of Medicine were awarded a Carver Trust COVID-19 Pilot Collaborative Award. The grant, Unraveling the role of saliva in COVID- 19 pathogenesis using a comprehensive multi-omics approach, will involve a multi-arm, cross-sectional, case-control study with an integrated -omics approach to determine the microbial, metabolic, functional, and immune alterations in the saliva of COVID-19 patients.

Researchers at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry are working to make bone regeneration a reality through novel tissue engineering strategies and cutting-edge science. Hongli Sun is one of several faculty members at the college leading the charge to develop novel bone regeneration strategies for particular conditions and diseases.

For the past six years, the Department of Prosthodontics has celebrated National Prosthodontics Awareness week by recruiting six low-income veterans to receive a free, complete set of dentures. To commemorate this annual event and in recognition of National Prosthodontics Awareness Week, Governor Kim Reynolds declared April 5-9 Iowa Prosthodontics Awareness Week.

Personalized medicine meets the unique needs of each patient, and Christopher Barwacz’s research is focused on improving and optimizing implant therapy to meet the specific needs of each individual patient.

As an expert in the genetics of embryonic development and an assistant professor in the Department of Periodontics, Eric Van Otterloo, has opened a new dimension for understanding craniofacial development, genetics, and bone formation as he and his team have explored a peculiar gene, Memo1.

On Thursday, the University of Iowa announced that the first $7.5 million of the investment revenue generated from the public-private partnership (P3) for its utility system would include a $600K+ award for the College of Dentistry. With this support, an interdisciplinary team with over 40-people, including Iowa faculty from the Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Engineering, will develop the preliminary data and program structure to apply for and be competitive for an $11 million grant from the NCI/NIDCR to establish a P50 Specialized Program of Research Excellence in oral cancer. This specialized research program in oral cancer will be the first of its kind in the nation.

The University of Iowa Dental Alumni Association and the College of Dentistry wish to honor Dr. Regennitter with the 2020 Leadership of the Year Award.