STUDENT NEWS & EVENTS
The dental school hosted its annual scholarship ceremony on May 13, 2009. Each year, the school and its generous donors provide more than $2 million in support for predoctoral students, more than any other dental school in the nation. About one third of the revenue generated by student differential fees is returned to students in the form of scholarships. In addition, friends of the dental school play a crucial role in reducing the cost of a dental school education. This year, students had the opportunity to meet some of the philanthropists who make their scholarships possible, including Shirley and Ralph Shapiro, Sharon Rosen Lieb, Ann Beech, representatives of the UCLA Affiliates, and Dr. Henry Yamada. Click here to view a slideshow from the event. Click here for a list of the scholarships presented May 13.
UCLA made a big impact at the California Dental Association meeting in Anaheim May 16-18, 2009. Three Bruins tied for first place in the student research competition: Congratulations are due to Jelson Yalung and his mentor, Ichiro Nishimura, as well as to the team of Deema Saad and Rana Mehr and their mentor, Shane White. In addition, Chanel McCreedy and Lindsay Costantino also contributed to a new CDA record: They took second place in the community category for their poster on the Basic Dental Principles teaching apprenticeship program.
Congratulations to the 3rd- year dental students who were were the Fall 2008-09 UCLA Co-Ed Intramural Volleyball Champions! The winning team (composed of David Avenetti, Chris Chau, Lindsay Costantino, Ben Freed, Kristen Ritzau, Cory Ritzau, Amy Yen, and Mike Young) went undefeated with a 6-0 record.
On January 17, 2009, the first Student Study Club (#67) of the Academy of RV Tucker Study Clubs was held at UCLA under the mentorship of Dr. Richard G. Stevenson III. Drs. William Morgan and Cristina Lopez were also present to help guide the students throughout the clinic session, during which 10 students operated on patients, 10 students assisted, and 10 simulated a case on a typodont. Following the clinical session, photo critiques of the patient cases were presented.
The Division of Restorative Dentistry sponsored eight predoctoral students who attended the Academy of Operative Dentistry meeting held February 25-27, 2009 in Chicago. Five fourth-year and three third-year dental students actively participated in both the scientific session and hands-on portion of the conference, which attracted more than three hundred restorative dentistry educators and private practitioners from more than 20 countries. Along with the students, Drs. Stevenson, Hewlett, Morgan, Lopez, Bonilla, Schoenbaum and Charlin also attended the conference.
The 2008-09 Dean's Leadership Institute came to a conclusion on April 23. Twelve predoctoral students—Brian Asbury, Sara Asgari, Samantha Brenner, David Feller, Carl Jones, Jason Kung, Kristen Lowe, Rick Rauth, Michael Shoff, Aldrich Sy, Delia Tuttle, and Jelson Yalung—received certificates in recognition of their participation in the program, designed to identify and encourage future leaders in patient care, education, research, organized dentistry, and community service.
David White '12 and his wife, Bonnie, welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Audrey in November 2008.
Valentina Redden and her husband and daughter welcomed their newest additions, twins Matthew and Ashley, on February 14, 2009.
Protecting Patient Privacy
In January 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger signed two new laws into effect,
AB 211 and SB 541. As Carol Klove, UCLA's chief compliance and privacy officer explained, "These two laws work together in making. . . hospitals and individual health care professionals, as well as University staff–accountable for maintaining the confidentiality of patient medical information."
"Individuals will face fines and penalties, for which they will be personally responsible, criminal sanctions, as well as disciplinary action by licensing boards for unauthorized access/disclosure of medical information. In addition, hospitals will incur fines for failure to prevent or report unauthorized access/disclosure of medical information."
For a more detailed description of the new laws, and your responsibilities, click here.
FACULTY CORNER
George Bernard, professor emeritus, recently played a featured acting role in a short film, “Joseph’s Wheel of Destiny,” directed by Ian Eyre (husband of assistant professor Clarice Law). The film, which placed in the top 20 among those submitted for the 168 Film Festival, made its premiere April 4, 2009 at the Alex Theater in Glendale and is available online.
In June 2009, the Institue for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine will present the 2009 Tjellström Award to John Beumer for, in the award committee's words, "the outstanding and remarkable contribution he has made to the field of Maxillofacial Prosthetics. . . John Beumer has always inspired and encouraged young minds to engage in discovery and to work to improve the plight of those who require reconstruction and rehabilitation of the head and neck." The award will be presented at the International Symposium on Bone Conduction Healing and Craniofacial Osseointegration in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The UC President's office has appointed Ian Coulter to two statewide committees: The UC Subcommittee on Advancing and Rewarding Teaching in the Health Professions, the purpose of which is to develop a repository of teaching materials for all the health sciences and to develop an academy for the health sciences, and the Senate-Administration Task Force advising on EAP’s Strategic Plan, which is a response from all the UC Campuses and the UC Senate about proposed budget cuts and the reorganization of the Education Abroad Program.
James Crall traveled to our nation's capital February 12, 2009 to deliver a congressional briefing highlighting the latest research that demonstrates a vital link between high-quality early childhood oral health programs and long-term health.
Alan Felsenfeld's CDA Journal editorial entitled “Attention K-Mart Shoppers” on the subject of dental tourism that was nationally reprinted by The American Dental Association in its January 2009 ADA News.
Shadi Kamyab published a paper, Cardiovascular Simulation Cases for Dental Students, with acclamation at MedEdPortal.
Mo Kang has been appointed to the Research and Scientific Affairs Committee of the American Association of Endodontists.
At the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago in February 2009 (which was themed to honor the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth), Carl Maida chaired the symposium, "Expression of Emotions: Biocultural Perspectives." In addition, Maida's book Pathways Through Crisis: Urban Risk and Public Culture, was recently published by AltaMira Press.
The American Academy of Orofacial Pain(AAOP) held its annual meeting in Austin Texas March 5-8, 2009 and UCLA Orofacial Pain (OFP) faculty and alumni played a significant part in the proceedings. Marcela Romero, who completed an OFP preceptorship and also earned a PhD in oral biology at UCLA in 2006, presented her research on muscle pain. Bernadette Jaeger GPR '80 spoke on myofascial pain. Steven Graff-Radford spoke on headache and orofacial pain. Robert Merrill spoke on the neurophysiology of myofascial pain and also gave a talk on migraine variants. In addition, Dr. Merrill (pictured at right in the photo above) received the AAOP Lifetime Achievement Award for "...exemplary dedication to alleviating Orofacial Pain and. . . outstanding contribution to education, knowledge and advancement of the field of Orofacial Pain Management."
Richard G. Stevenson III has been awarded the coveted RV Tucker Award, the highest honor that the Academy of Operative Dentistry gives, recognizing an individual who has made a significant impact not only on the Academy, but the profession as a whole.
As part of Give Kids a Smile Day outreach, Phil Trask and Phil Kamins '87 visited the Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Nursery School.
In Memoriam
Donald D. Weissman, DDS, a member of the dental school faculty from 1967 until his retirement in 1980, passed away in Sherman Oaks, California on February 18, 2009. During his long career, Weissman published numerous professional articles on dental radiology and served as president and fellow of the American Academy of Dental Radiology, founding president and Diplomate of the American Board of Maxillofacial Radiology, fellow of the American College of Dentists, and a member of the scientific research society Sigma Chi.
He is survived by his sons Dr. Albert M. Weissman of Rancho Mirage, California and Bruce J. Weissman; his daughter Carol Day and son-in-law Carl, of Malibou Lake; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 72 years, Ruth Sarah Weissman, on December 31, 2008.
Services and internment were conducted at Mt. Sinai Cemetery in Los Angeles. The family suggests that donations be made to your favorite charity.