Topics at a glance: President Kaiser speaks at Dental Branch Town Hall Meeting … Prosthodontics Department presents Pre-Doctoral Achievement Awards … Dr. Trajtenberg elected fellow in the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Dentistry … ATTENTION COMMUTERS: Ride the Fort Bend County Express to TMC … Hispanic Student Dental Association assists at health fair … Camarata leaves UT Media Relations for new job … Seen at the Dental Branch

President Kaiser speaks at Dental Branch town hall meeting

'You can be assured we are moving ahead'

UTHSC-H President Larry R. Kaiser, M.D., addresses Dental Branch faculty, staff and students in a town hall meeting. He said the school's building project remains a priority. Photo by Brian Schnupp

Larry Kaiser, M.D., the new president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, spoke at his first UT Dental Branch town hall meeting Aug. 27 after participating in a series of meetings and presentations to get to know the school. Kaiser opened his comments with a touch of humor. "This is the first time I didn't dread going to the dentist," he said. He went on to describe this as an exciting time for the Dental Branch and the new building project. "Construction costs are going up every day, so we won't wait too long to begin the new building," he said. "You can be assured that we are moving ahead."

FULL STORY

Third-year clinical Prosthodontics Award recipients (from left) are Thanh Pham, Nadar Shar, Jennifer Kong, Charles Nguyen, Jaser Diaz, Dana Manshadi, Alex Missonne and Drew Darsey.

Prosthodontics presents Pre-Doctoral Achievement Awards

The Prosthodontics Department has chosen winners of the Fifth Annual Pre-Doctoral Achievement Awards. They are presented on the basis of students' performance in their first and second years of pre-clinical work and their third-year clinical work. The first-year Occlusion Award went to Elizabeth Swearingen. The Sophomore Award went to Brett McRay and the Third-Year Prosthodontics Award went to Thanh Pham, Nadar Shar, Jennifer Kong, Charles Nguyen, Jaser Diaz, Dana Manshadi, Alex Missonne and Drew Darsey. The awards were presented by faculty members Mohsin Ali B.D.S., Maria Gonzalez, D.D.S., and Raymond Koeppen, D.D.S.

Cynthia Trajtenberg, D.D.S.

Dr. Trajtenberg elected fellow
in World Congress
of Minimally Invasive Dentistry

Cynthia Trajtenberg, D.D.S., assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials, has been elected fellow of the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Dentistry (WCMID). She is the first fellow elected from Texas. Founded in 1999, the WCMID selects fellows in recognition of outstanding achievement and commitment to minimally invasive dentistry and oral health prevention. Fellows are inducted into the organization upon successful completion of written and clinical examinations.

ATTENTION COMMUTERS:

Ride the Fort Bend County Express to TMC

The Texas Medical Center has announced a new commuter bus service provided by Fort Bend County for residents traveling to the TMC campus. Bus service began Sept. 2, with the first week free. Beginning the second week, fares will be $3.50 each. Pick up for the Fort Bend County Express is in two locations:

• the University of Houston - Sugar Land campus, 14000 University Blvd.
• First Colony Mall, AMC Theatre, 3301 Town Center Blvd., Sugar Land.

For more information about the Fort Bend County Express, CLICK HERE.

Hispanic Student Dental Association assists at health fair

The Hispanic Student Dental Association and Telemundo teamed up for a back-to-school health fair. Among UTDB students who participated were (top row from left) Adrian Reyes, Patrick Beetar, Jeremiah Funk, Iven Gonzalez, (front from left) Alicia Harrison, Karla Zapata, Lynn Cran, Montsy Rodriguez and Allison Brown.

The University of Texas chapter of the Hispanic Student Dental Association (HSDA) teamed up with television station Telemundo for a back-to-school health fair Aug. 9 at the Braeswood Assembly of God Church. Participants from the HSDA included Cynthia Trajtenberg, D.D.S.; dental students Iven Gonzalez, Lynn Cran, Patrick Beetar, Adrian Reyes, Jeremiah Funk and Alicia Harrison, and dental hygiene students Karla Zapata, Alicia Ramirez, Allison Brown and Montserrat "Montsy" Rodriguez. More than 200 people ranging in age from infants to adults attended the event. The dental and dental hygiene students provided oral hygiene instructions, fluoride treatments for children and referrals for follow-up care at specialty clinics or at the UT Dental Branch. The students also distributed literature on oral hygiene and dental products such as toothbrushes and toothpastes.

Natalie Wong Camarata, seen with her husband, Nick Camarata, has resigned to take another job. Photo by Rhonda Moran.

Media Relations announces change;
Lake replaces Camarata for DB news

Natalie Wong Camarata, the media relations specialist assigned to the Dental Branch, has accepted a new job with the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System as a senior marketing and communications specialist. Her last day with The UT Health Science Center was Aug. 28.

A graduate of the University of Houston, Camarata had been with UT since 2006. Most recently, she was assigned to the Dental Branch and School of Public Health in addition to serving as the university's liaison to Spanish-language media. Although she will begin her new job this week, Camarata will maintain a special connection with the Dental Branch, as her husband, Nick, is a third-year dental student.

Media Relations Specialist Deborah Mann Lake has been assigned to the Dental Branch. She can be reached at Deborah.M.Lake@uth.tmc.edu or Ext. 3304. She will work closely with the Dental Branch's communication specialist, Rhonda Moran, to make sure UTDB news reaches all appropriate media.

Seen at the DB

As part of orientation week, second-year dental student Victoria Ramirez helps first-year student Jeremiah Funk learn the names of dental instruments. The students were later tested on what they learned. Photo by Rhonda Moran. SEE MORE STUDENT PHOTOS.

Save the Date:

UTDB graduation date announced

The Office of Student Affairs has announced the date of the next UT Dental Branch graduation ceremony. The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, May 22 in the Cullen Performance Hall on the University of Houston campus, with a featured speaker to be announced later.