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Finalists named in dental dean search
Five finalists have been identified in the search for a new dean for the School of Dental Medicine, including an internal candidate.
Joseph J. Zambon, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Periodontics and Endodontics and associate dean for academic affairs in the dental school, is one of five candidates for the position. The other candidates are Michael Glick, professor and associate dean for oral-medical sciences, A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona; Angelo J. Mariotti, professor and chair of the Division of Periodontology, College of Dentistry, The Ohio State University; Mark I. Ryder, professor and chair of the Division of Periodontology, Department of Orofacial Sciences, University of California-San Francisco School of Dentistry; and Russell S. Taichman, professor in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine in the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
The candidates will visit campus in the coming weeks to meet with representative faculty, staff, students, members of the university's senior leadership team and selected community partners and individuals. The on-campus visits “will provide for expanded participation and input in the search process, and will allow the candidates to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the exciting opportunity available for the new dean to help position UB's School of Dental Medicine among the nation's best,” says Robert J. Genco, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Oral Biology in the dental school, who is chairing the search committee. The candidates’ on-campus interview process also will include open meetings with members of the general university community.
Taichman will be on campus on Aug. 11; the open session is scheduled for 2-3 p.m. in 125 Kimball Tower, South Campus. Glick will be on campus on Aug. 17, with the open forum set for noon to 1 p.m. in 125 Kimball. Zambon’s interview will take place on Aug. 25, Ryder will be here on Sept. 2 and Mariotti will visit on Sept. 3. The times and locations of those open sessions, as well as the curricula vita for the candidates, will be available on the search committee’s Web site at least two days prior to their scheduled visits.
Genco says the committee welcomes input from the university community, which can be sent to sdm-dean@buffalo.edu.
Michael Glick, who also holds an appointment as a professor of oral medicine in the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health at A.T. Still, joined the Still faculty in 2007 after serving as a professor and chair of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at the New Jersey Dental School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He also has held faculty and administrative positions at Temple University School of Dentistry and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.
In addition to his position at A.T. Still, he serves as senior clinical investigator at the Forsyth Clinical Research Collaborative, a group of scientists who support clinical research in oral and craniofacial diseases at the Forsyth Institute, a Boston-based, independent research organization.
Glick, who serves as editor of the Journal of the American Dental Association— the premier peer-reviewed journal on dentistry and dental science—has authored, co-authored and co-edited nearly 80 scholarly papers and four books, and has written numerous editorials, monographs and abstracts. His research has been funded by a variety of sources, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and he also has received many treatment and educational grants.
He received dental degrees from Hebrew University Hadassah School of Dental Medicine in Jerusalem and Temple University.
Angelo Mariotti joined the Ohio State faculty in 1996 as chair and associate professor of periodontology. He also served as director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontics at the university from 2000-04. He previously held faculty positions in the departments of Periodontology and Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Florida, where he also served as director of the postgraduate program in periodontology.
A diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, he serves on the advisory board of the Journal of Periodontology; as a member of the Education Committee and former chair of the In-Service Examination Committee, both for the American Academy of Periodontology; as an examiner for the American Board of Periodontology; and as a consultant for the Council of Scientific Affairs of the American Dental Association.
An endocrine pharmacologist as well as a specialist in periodontology, he has published numerous scientific articles on the actions and interactions of sex steroid hormones on cellular proliferation and growth. He also has published on periodontology and gender influences in oral health.
A Fellow of the International College of Dentists, Mariotti earned a B.S. in biology from Grove City College, Grove City Pa.; a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology and a D.D.S., both from West Virginia University; and a certificate in periodontology from Virginia Commonwealth University.
UCSF faculty member since 1979, Mark Ryder also serves as director of the Postgraduate Program in Periodontology, and for three years was vice-chair of the Department of Stomatology. He played a pivotal role in the development and implementation of a new undergraduate dental curriculum at UCSF, and has been consistently recognized for his teaching, most recently with an Educator Award from the American Academy of Periodontology.
In addition to his positions at UCSF, Ryder has served as a visiting professor of periodontology at the Nippon Dental University in Tokyo and as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry.
A diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, Ryder has received numerous research and training grants, and has lectured extensively, both nationally and internationally, on topics ranging from tobacco smoking and periodontal diseases to dental curriculum reform.
He sits on the editorial boards of several periodicals, including the Journal of Periodontology, the Journal of Periodontal Research and the Journal of Clinical Periodontology. He also has served as a member and chair of various National Institutes of Health study sections.
He earned a B.S. cum laude in molecular biology from Tufts College and a D.M.D. and certificate in periodontology, both from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Russell Taichman, who joined the Michigan dental faculty in 1992 as an assistant professor, also serves as director of the University of Michigan Scholars Program in Dental Leadership.
He designed and implemented a mentoring program for the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine (POM) that serves as a model for the UM dental school. He twice was awarded the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence, as well as the UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) Faculty Recognition Award for Outstanding Research Mentorship.
Taichman serves as director of research in POM, where he has worked to identify osteoblast-specific factors that supports hematopoiesis. His research also focuses on the mechanisms used by tumor cells to metastasize to the bone marrow, as well as on the identity and function of mesenchymal stem cells.
His work is funded by a variety of sources, including the NIH, the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense; he is the author or co-author of 60 scholarly publications and six book chapters.
He received a B.S. in biology from Villanova University, a D.M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and a D.M.Sc. in oral biology and a certificate in periodontology, both from Harvard University School of Dental Medicine. He was a postdoctoral fellow in molecular immunology at the Penn School of Medicine.
Joseph Zambon joined the dental school faculty in 1982. Among his numerous honors and awards are the UB Exceptional Scholar Award; the R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Award and the Clinical Research Award, both from the American Academy of Periodontology; and the Richard A. Powell Award for Teaching Excellence, the Alan J. Gross Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Charles Lipani Award for Faculty Service, all from the UB School of Dental Medicine.
Twice named Dental Educator of the Year in the UB dental school, Zambon is a member and former chair of the school’s curriculum committee and a co-director of its Electronic Curriculum Project, which has completely digitized the school’s educational program.
A prolific researcher, Zambon has authored or co-authored nearly 150 scholarly papers, more than two dozen book chapters and more than 200 abstracts. He has been principal or co-principal investigator on more than 60 grants and contracts, and holds five patents.
He sits on the editorial boards of The Open Dentistry Journal, Open Dentistry Letters and Open Dentistry Reviews, and is a member of several NIH special emphasis panels.
He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from St. John Fisher College, and a D.D.S. and Ph.D. in oral biology, both from UB.
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