Receptions Welcome Specialty Students to BUGSDM
BU Castle was host to two BUGSDM welcoming receptions October 11 and 12 as the Departments of Periodontology and Oral Biology and Endodontics celebrated students entering and returning to their programs.
Postdoctoral Program in Periodontology & Oral Biology
Periodontology began the festivities Thursday, welcoming the department’s new residents and DScD and PhD students.
"These doctors are intelligent, hardworking, researchers and clinicians who are prepared for the challenges ahead of them," said Department Chair Dr. Frank Oppenheim. "I am proud to welcome all of you to Boston University."
"The students entering the postdoctoral program in periodontology this year are as unique as the programs we offer," said Program Director Dr. Thomas Van Dyke. "The entering class comprises nine students from eight different countries who, through diverse clinical and research experiences, will work toward degrees including the certificate of advanced graduate study, master of science in dentistry, doctor of science, and doctor of philosophy in periodontology."
The distinct group comes to BUGSDM from: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Pakistan, Romania, Turkey, and the United States.
Following Dr. Oppenheim’s speech, Dr. Van Dyke invited students to the center of the Castle’s great room to be acknowledged by guests.
Postdoctoral Program in Endodontics
Friday, Senior Associate Dean and Chair, Department of Endodontics, Dr. Jeffrey Hutter, Mrs. Kathy Hutter, and the Department of Endodontics welcomed about 150 guests to the Castle for a dinner to welcome 12 new and 16 returning endodontics residents.
Joining the program this year are: Drs. Jeffrey Bell, Sam Black, Sudha Chinta, Mark Haddad, Nanarao Krothapalli, Sarah Lennan, Onir Leshem, Quinn Lybbert, Nidhi Prakash, Courtney Russell, Michelle Stoffa, Jason Zeim, all ENDO 09; and Drs. Erin McKenzie, Javier Ortiz, Diana Paczesny, Ali Salehpour, who are working with either Dr. Dana Graves in Oral Biology or Dr. Lee Chou in Biomaterials towards a Master of Science in Dentistry degree and will graduate in 2010.
Dr. Hutter invited first- and second-year residents to the Castle staircase to be acknowledged and also welcomed staff, faculty, alumni, and other guests attending the event.
Associate Dean for Administration Dr. Paula Friedman welcomed students, stating they have chosen to study in the best endodontics residency program worldwide, under the best endodontics chair and past AAE president.
Alumni Board President Joseph Calabrese DMD 91 AEGD 92 and Endodontic Alumni Association President Richard Yamanaka ENDO 76 spoke about the importance of staying connected to the BUGSDM family. Building on an endodontics reception tradition, Dr. and Mrs. Hutter presented engraved, silver baby cups to Drs. Sam and Elena Black and Nanarao and Padmaja Krothapalli in honor of their recent parenthood. Dr. and Mrs. Hutter gave wedding gifts to second-year resident Dr. Ibukun Olagbemi and her husband Lanre Oye-Somefun as well as Kevin Peterson ENDO 05 for his upcoming wedding October 27 in Spain.
Special guests from the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) included President Shep Goldstein, Executive Director Jim Drinan, Assistant Executive Director for Development Debby Rice, and Development Coordinator Suzanne Riger. Goldstein spoke about the importance of preserving the natural tooth in endodontics.
AAE staff were in Boston meeting with the first-year endodontic residents in planning for the 2008 Advanced Programs in Clinical Endodontics Symposium, an annual, three-day event co-founded in 2004 by BUGSDM residents Brian Chuang and Jessica Barr ENDO 05. Next year’s event will take place at Boston University.
One guest got a head start on her BUGSDM education. New resident Dr. McKenzie brought her undergraduate classmate Dr. Shadi Abedin to the reception; Abedin is currently interviewing to enter the school’s endodontics program next fall.