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 medical equipment manufacturer SONENDO of California awarded Dr. Fabricio Teixeira, professor and head of the Department of Endodontics, and his team a $189K grant and specialized equipment and training worth almost $350K, bringing the total value of the award to $539K for their 1-year clinical project, “Effectiveness of GentleWave on the Healing of Apical Periodontitis: a prospective cohort study.”

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry is pleased to announce the 2021 Seed Grant Awards. This is the second 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 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.

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.

Julie C. Reynolds, Peter C. Damiano and Jill Boylston Herndon, Journal Public Health Dentistry, 2022

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.