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Fellowship Recipient Pursues Career at the Intersection of Periodontics and Public Health

Fellowship Recipient Pursues Career at the Intersection of Periodontics and Public Health

November 30, 2020

Danielle “Danni” Burgess, a first-year resident in Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Periodontology program, was inspired to pursue a career in dentistry so she could help individuals like her grandmother who struggled with periodontal disease and tooth loss. A new Periodontology Fellowship is helping her take a step closer to her dream. Burgess is the first recipient of the fellowship that was funded last year with the support of the program’s alumni and friends.

“I grew up in Seaforth Village, Jamaica. I was raised by my grandmother, who struggled with periodontal disease...

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Joseph L. Henry

Joseph L. Henry Oral Health Fellows Pursue Dynamic Goals in Public Health

November 13, 2020

Drs. Siobhian M. B. Sprott, and Shelly D. Taylor were recently awarded the Joseph L. Henry Oral Health Fellowship in Minority Health Policy for the 2020-2021 academic year. The Joseph L. Henry Oral Health Fellowship in Minority Health Policy, awarded each academic year, is an academic degree-granting program with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders in minority health, health policy, and oral epidemiology. The program is named after Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s first African American full professor, Joseph L. Henry who also served as the School’s interim dean from...

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Drs. Bertini and Franklin

HSDM Alumna Reflects on Progress and Potential to Address Racial Inequities

November 10, 2020

Fifty years ago, Dolores Mercedes Franklin, DMD74, PD76, became the first woman of color to attend Harvard School of Dental Medicine and one of the first five women to earn a DMD degree. A trailblazer throughout her life, Franklin, a global leader in oral health policy, achieved many firsts in her career, paving the way for future generations of women and individuals of color in dentistry.

Today, she sees a pressing need to address racial inequities in oral health care in light of COVID-19. She...

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affordable care act image

New Study Reveals Effects of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion on Dental Coverage

November 3, 2020

Dr. Hawazin W. Elani, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), and co-authors from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, examined how the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion of Medicaid eligibility affected dental coverage and the use of oral health services among low-income adults, using data from the National Health Interview Survey. Their findings were published...

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Stock image of an "I Voted" sticker.

Advocating for Voter Engagement on Harvard’s Longwood Campus

October 23, 2020

Ahead of November’s election, Harvard launched the Harvard Votes Challenge (HVC), which is a non-partisan initiative aimed at increasing voter registration and participation among members of the Harvard community. Through different events such as National Voter Registration Day and training sessions for election volunteers, the Harvard Votes Challenge is engaging community members in new ways, with an emphasis on building a civic-minded culture at Harvard...

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Dr. Nagai

Dr. Shigemi Nagai Awarded National Academy of Medicine Catalyst Award

October 21, 2020

Dr. Shigemi Nagai, associate professor of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, and director of clinical research at HSDM, was recently awarded a National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Catalyst Award as part of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition, a multiyear, multimillion-dollar international competition seeking breakthrough innovations to extend human health and function later in life. Nagai is the only dentist to receive the award among the 150 awards issued in the inaugural round of the competition.... Read more about Dr. Shigemi Nagai Awarded National Academy of Medicine Catalyst Award

Dr. Ohyama

Flipping the Script on Dental Education

October 19, 2020

What happens when you take a hands-on, interactive dental curriculum and turn it upside down? Four new publications in the Journal of Dental Education authored by HSDM faculty and students reveal how dental education during the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly adapted to deliver aspects of the curriculum in virtual ways. The authors took a close look at what worked well, and what needed improvement, to inform how to best deliver dental education in new and uncharted territory.

“As we all know, dental education has a very interactive curriculum and invaluable aspects to...

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Dean William Giannobile

A Q&A with HSDM’s New Dean William Giannobile

September 3, 2020

Dr. William V. Giannobile, became dean of HSDM on September 1, 2020. An HSDM alumnus, Giannobile is prominent educator and leader in the field of periodontology. He shares more about his background and vision for the School in the following Q&A.

Tell us about your background. What led you to a career in dental education?

I was born in Chicago and my parents later moved our family (my three sisters and me) to a small farm in the Ozarks of Missouri. Early on as a young person, I was very curious about science and medicine. I had an inspiring...

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Gerardo Alvarez, DMD24, in his White Coat posing in front of a tree.

For Gerardo Alvarez, DMD24, Helping Others Runs in the Family

August 26, 2020

Gerardo Alvarez, a native of Valencia, Venezuela, comes from a family where dentistry and medicine are a passion. Within his immediate family, Alvarez has an uncle who is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and an aunt who is an orthodontist. His mother Maria is a foreign internal medicine doctor. After arriving in the U.S. at the age of 16, Alvarez and his mother settled in Miami, residing with his aunt. Alvarez spent many afternoons at his aunt and uncle’s dental practice where he developed a love of dentistry. After high school, Alvarez attended Davidson...

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Abigail Marshall, DMD24, poses in her White Coat.

Abby Marshall, DMD24, Knows the Value of a Smile

August 19, 2020

Abigail Marshall, a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, comes to HSDM from Sunbury, Ohio. After growing up in a small farming town of just 5,000 residents, Marshall is excited to move to Boston in January and start exploring local sights, sounds, and cuisines. During her undergraduate studies, Marshall majored in biology and premedical studies with a minor in disability studies. She was also a Division I athlete, competing on the Women’s Varsity Field Hockey team, where she won three conference championships and made an appearance in the NCAA tournament. She is...

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