From: Durham, Erika
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:46 PM
Subject: UTDB eflash (weekly edition) -- Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Saluting the centennial

The Centennial year may be drawing to a close, but the momentum and excitement at the Dental Branch continues as alumni, staff and faculty invest in the future of dental education with a gift to the Centennial Salute 2005 campaign.

A contribution to Centennial Salute places funds into the Dean’s Excellence Fund, which will be used to advance the mission of our school. Be among the contributors of this once-in-a-lifetime giving opportunity.

The names of donors of leadership level gifts ($1,000 or more) will be placed on the CENTENNIAL SALUTE 2005 donor recognition display. This display, honoring those who have given at the leadership level, will hang at the school in perpetuity. Donors of all amounts will receive special recognition and acknowledgement. Visit http://www.db.uth.tmc.edu/Centennial/centennial_salute/index.htm to give or gain more information.

Welcome to the Family: Carolyn Harty has arrived

The newest addition to the Dental Branch family is Carolyn Harty, the new assistant library director.

Harty has bachelor’s degrees in Exercise Physiology and Nursing from Northern Illinois University. She recently obtained a master’s degree in Library Science from Texas Woman’s University, here in Houston.

Harty’s new position makes her responsible for ordering new books, maintaining the collections, managing the online resources, updating the library’s Web site, preserving the historical collections and so much more. Harty also will be responsible for representing the Dental Branch at the Texas Health Science Libraries Consortium.

"I'm really enjoying my new career and position. There is always something new in libraries as we continue to step into the digital age. I look forward to keeping the library current with the changing technology and resources."

Harty and her husband, Jim, have two children, Jack, 10, and Mallory, who is 5.

Dental Branch wins big at Research Day

Congratulations to the following D.D.S. students who won awards for their posters Nov. 18 at Research Day:

• First Place ($400): Matt Steffer
  “Bonding Porcelain Veneers with Light-Cured Adhesives”
  Mentors: Kathy O’Keefe, D.D.S. and John Powers, Ph.D.

• Second Place ($300): Nancy Tran
  “Is Human Papillomavirus Infection Facilitating Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Related Hamartoma Formation?”
  Mentors: Hope Northrup, M.D., and Kit-Sing Au, Ph.D.

• Third Place ($200): Alicia Tsai
  “Heparin Decreases the Adhesion of Norman and Hereditary Multiple Exostosis Chondrocytes to Fibronectin”
  Mentors: Jackie Duke, Ph.D., and Jackie Hecht, Ph.D.

The faculty judges were Charles Steckfus, D.D.S.; Kishore Shetty, D.D.S.; Jerry Bouquot, D.D.S.; James Katancik, D.D.S., Ph.D.; and D.D.S., Ph.D. student Colin Lathrop.

Congratulations to everyone who participated: Shad Hanis, Helen Martinez, Kathy Phan, Leslie Scruggs, Liza Shevchenko, Matt Steffer, Michael Syamken, Nancy Tran, Alicia Tsai and Justin Wright.

Welcome new DB faculty

Photo by Brian Schnupp

Front row: Left to right: Helena Tapias, D.D.S; Joel Napenas, D.D.S.; and Hitesh Kapadia, D.D.S.

Back row L-R James Katancik, D.D.S., Ph.D.; Liu Zesheng, M.D., Ph.D.; Kishore Shetty, D.D.S.; Charles Streckfus, D.D.S.; Robert Tate, D.D.S.; Raymond Koeppen, D.D.S.; and David Kidier-Malis, D.D.S., M.D.

Michael Korth, D.D.S., and Nagi Demian, D.D.S., are also participating in the New Faculty Orientation.

Outstanding employee of the quarter recognition award

Jan Woodward, senior staff assistant, in the department of Periodontics, who has served the Dental Branch for more than 15 years is the employee of the quarter.

The following are some comments taken from peers who nominated Woodward:

• “She is a very dedicated employee, who goes beyond her duties to help all faculty and students.”
• “She has volunteered to work on the weekends and is quick to help anyone in our department.”
• “She unselfishly contributes to our daily work and department functions and goes “above and beyond” in her service to the Department & the Dental Branch

Congratulations Jan!

Dental Hygiene helps out at Hines Nurseries

First-year dental hygiene students, and their coordinator Donna Warren, associate professor in Periodontics, go to Hines Nurseries every fall to participate in the Annual Health Fair. The class provides dental supplies, toothbrushes and dental information. Hines has over 500 employees and is located in Ft. Bend County, where dental health resources for the poor are scarce, according to Warren. Referrals for dental care are made to either the Dental Branch or Fort Bend Family Health Clinic in Stafford.

Deck the halls with the Dental Branch

There won’t be another holiday party quite like this one … Deck the halls with a “Dickens” celebration of dentistry, 3-6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, in the Dental Branch Lobby.

Come decked festively or in attire of the time and be prepared to party. Enjoy Victorian era decorations, delicious treats and caroling from the University of Houston Moores School of Music.

The UTDBeflash is a weekly publication of The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston. Please send items for consideration to dbnewsdesk@uth.tmc.edu.