As we age, every stumble or fall comes with a risk—a risk that is even greater for those ten million people in the U.S. who have osteoporosis, a skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass, poor bone quality and fractures. Each year, 1.5 million bone fractures are attributed to osteoporosis, including 350,000 hip fractures. But hip or other fractures in older and osteoporotic patients do not heal easily and this often leads to significant impairments in daily life, and even death.

Dr. Roland Baron, professor and chair of...

The first four recipients of the inaugural HSDM Dean’s Innovation Challenge were recently announced. The Dean’s Innovation Fund awards up to $25,000 of grant funding to HSDM faculty who propose innovative projects aimed at enhancing research, education or patient care.

Projects in basic, clinical, translational or social sciences were considered and evaluated based on the following criteria: their ability to gather pilot data that may be used to support future grant applications; their likeliness not to be funded by other mechanisms...

On Thursday, February 11, Dean Bruce Donoff, along with the deans of Boston University and Tufts schools of dental medicine, gathered at the State House for an announcement by Governor Charlie Baker about new dental education core competencies for the prevention and management of prescription drug misuse.

“Educating our dental providers on prescribing practices for opioids is a critical step toward preventing drug misuse as we continue to combat this public health crisis,” said Governor Baker. “We are...

A distressed patient arrives at a dental clinic complaining of jaw pain and pleading for pain medication. The dentist suspects it might be temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), but closer examination reveals years of neglected dental disease, a history of substance abuse, and potentially a more serious condition that could be cancer.

The scenario is one that could happen in any dental clinic or doctor’s office, but this particular example is part of a detailed training module designed to educate health care professionals who have to make critical treatment decisions that often...

Drs. T. Howard Howell and David M. Kim from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) Division of Periodontology recently led a team of Harvard faculty to Shanghai, China to host HSDM’s first continuing education course at the Harvard Center Shanghai on October 19-21, 2015.

The course, “A Comprehensive Guide to Advanced Implant Dentistry” drew participants from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Macau. Dentists in attendance participated in a collaborative learning environment to discuss...

In an award ceremony held on October 22, 2015 at the University of Buenos Aires School of Dentistry in Argentina, Dr. German O. Gallucci, Raymond J. and Elva Pomfret Nagle Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, was named an honorary professor of the University of Buenos Aires.

Dr. Gallucci was selected for the honor based on his significant academic and scientific achievements and his global influence in the...

The Office of Dental Education welcomed two new Senior Tutors this year, Dr. Aram Kim and Dr. Armando Pardo. Both are Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) graduates.

Dr. Kim received her undergraduate degree from University of California, Berkeley in bioengineering, and her DMD from HSDM. She completed her advanced graduate training at University of Illinois at Chicago, receiving a Masters of Science in Oral Biology, and a Certificate in Prosthodontics. Before she joined HSDM, she was an assistant professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, where she taught predoctoral...

Dr. Mohamed Masoud, HSDM lecturer on Developmental Biology and clinical associate in the Faculty Group Practice, was recently honored with an Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship.  The Shore Fellowship offers junior faculty at HSDM and HMS financial support during a critical time in their academic careers. Fellowships are assessed for academic promise and personal need. Individual Shore Fellowships generally provide $30,000-$50,000 of funding per year.

“I was honored to receive the Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship in honor of Aina Auskaps, DMD,” Dr. Masoud said...

Dr. Maria J. Troulis, has been named chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS). She also will serve as the next Walter C. Guralnick Professor and chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). These appointments became effective Aug. 1, 2015.

“I am thrilled to be starting this new chapter in the department of OMFS at the MGH,” says Dr. Troulis. “I...

Dr. Malcolm Whitman, PHD87, HSDM professor of developmental biology, and Tracy Keller, SM87, PHD96, an instructor in the Department of Developmental Biology, have identified a chemical compound based on an active ingredient in the root of the blue evergreen hydrangea (Dichroa febrifuga), that could lead to treatment of chronic fibrotic and autoimmune diseases. The root has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Whitman and Keller identified the mechanism of action, halofuginone (HF), found within the root.

Now, Allied-Bristol Life Sciences (ABLS) a...

HSDM clinical instructor, Dr. Lisa Thompson has been awarded a Harvard Medical School (HMS) Academy Fellowship in Medical Education for the academic year 2015-2016.

As one of five Harvard faculty members selected, she will receive dedicated time to work on a project to be completed during the Fellowship year, which will contribute to the quality of student education at HMS and Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM).

Thompson’s project focuses on designing a curriculum...

Dr. Peggy Timothé, MPH02 has been named the recipient of the 2015 Michael Shannon, MD, MPH  Excellence in Mentoring Award.... Read more about Peggy Timothe Named 2015 Michael Shannon Excellence in Mentoring Awardee