Alumni

Neiders was born in Riga, Latvia, during the second world war, when Latvia was occupied first by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. To escape the second occupation of the Soviet Union at the end of the war, Neiders and her family moved to the west and spent six years in the American zone in Germany as a refugee in Displaced Person Camps before emigrating to the U.S. in 1950.

After pre-dental training at Ohio State University, Neiders obtained a doctorate of dental surgery from the University of Michigan’s Dental School, when women were only 1-2% of the dental profession. She continued to University of Chicago School of Medicine to earn a master’s degree in experimental pathology. 

Neiders moved to Buffalo to teach oral pathology at the UB School of Dental Medicine and became a diplomate of American Boards of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. She also obtained a certificate in periodontics from UB. 

Neiders taught undergraduate dental students through courses in oral pathology and clinical diagnosis. She has been extensively involved in the certificate programs in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology as an administrator and as a course director. Neiders also served as a thesis supervisor for committee members for graduate and doctorate programs. She has received numerous teaching awards including the SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Award in 2002. She is deeply committed to training outstanding dental practitioners with a very special focus on opportunities for minorities, women and international students. 

Neiders’ research included a variety of topics including immunity, immunofluorescence, tissue response to implanted materials, cell adhesion and microbiology as related to periodontology. her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Dental Research and has resulted in close to 100 publications. 

She retired in 2021 and is now professor emeritus in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences. As an alumna, she established the Dr. Mitzi Neiders Educational Fund in the Departments of Periodontology and Oral Diagnostic Sciences to support training and research opportunities for women faculty members.