Tarek Elmajie DPH 14 Honored at 2014 National Oral Health Conference

Tarek Elmajie DPH 14 received Honorable Mention for the Leverett Graduate Dental Student Merit Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Health Dentistry at the American Association of Public Health Dentistry Special Merit and Student Awards Presentation on Monday, April 28, 2014. The awards presentation took place during the 2014 National Oral Health Conference (NOHC) in Fort Worth, Texas.

Dr. Elmajie was recognized for his research poster, “Association between Sleep Problems and Periodontitis among US Adults,” which he presented during the General Poster Session of the NOHC. The population-based study revealed that sleep problems may be a risk indicator for periodontitis.

Dr. Elmajie is a graduate of the University of Benghazi School of Dentistry in Libya. Prior to joining the Advanced Education Program in Dental Public Health at GSDM, Dr. Elmajie held the position of Junior Faculty at the Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry at Misurata University in Libya.

Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter said, “Congratulations to Dr. Elmajie on this special recognition.” He continued, “I am pleased to see one of our residents honored on the national stage.”

Dr. Woosung Sohn, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Dental Health, said, “We are very proud of Tarek’s achievement as the Honorable Mention in the AAPHD 2014 Leverett Graduate Student Award competition.” He continued, “These results highlight the connectedness of the mouth and the body through a variety of mechanisms, and underscore the importance of dentists being aware of their patients’ general health status, including sleep patterns, as part of periodontal treatment.”

Dr. Sohn concluded, “Many of our former DPH graduates have received the AAPHD Leverett Graduate Student Award, and we are happy that Tarek continues the proud tradition!”