Lasting Impressions | Fall 2014

NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 17 Feldman recalls that her days studying at the CDM were among her happiest, and she learned so much from her professors. “Every professor I encountered there made a difference in my life. I loved going to dental school. Every day for me was exciting. I wanted to learn everything about giving people a smile,” said Feld- man. Her fondest memory took place in her third year when she was called upon to make a denture for a young man. Although his case was emotional and challenging, it was a success. The patient returned to the clinic as a changed man, smiling. Feldman realized the importance of a smile and how teeth can make a significant difference in people’s lives. Getting to NSU—which honored Feldman with a distinguished alumni award in 2010—was also something of a journey for Feldman. It started in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in the former Soviet Union. Yes, Feldman was born there, but she points out, “I was raised in Chicago.” Religious reasons prompted her family to immigrate to the United States, where her parents knew there would be bet- ter opportunities for her and her sister. (Feldman didn’t know she was Jewish while in Tashkent.) After a long immigration process, which included residing in both Austria and Italy, the family made it to the United States. Before she left Uzbekistan, Feldman spent a lot of time with her role model, her great-grandmother, who was a physician. “She would always discuss her work and patients with me as if I were her col- league, making me feel like an adult. She had patience for all my questions,” Feldman said. Early interest in dentistry After they arrived in suburban Chicago in 1979, Feldman’s parents set about reeducating them- selves. Her father became a real estate appraiser, and her mother became a mortgage broker. It wasn’t long until her parents began to tell her she would be a good dentist. “I had a fine eye for detail, noticing things most people would not,” Feldman said. She also had a fascination with her own dentist’s work, wanting to know all about the pro- cesses, and often venturing into the backroom lab to inspect the lab work. It still took a while for her parents’ suggestion to gain traction. Feldman studied psychology at the University of Illinois—Chicago. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she pursued a master’s degree in medical radiation physics. “I was looking for a career path,” she said. After completing her master’s degree at the Chicago Medical School, she was disappointed that she spent more time with computers than people. It was then that she joined NSU’s Biomedical Sciences pro- gram, eventually earning her D.M.D. at the College of Dental Medicine. At the UF Health Cancer Center in Orlando, she is part of a team that includes a head and neck sur- geon, plastic surgeon, a medical oncologist, and speech pathologists. They usually confer on each case, and Feldman participates in many of the sur- gical cases as well as prosthodontic rehabilitation of the head and neck cancer cases. One of her past cases involved working with an anaplastologist in designing a prosthetic ear. An informative video on the Orlando Health YouTube channel shows a patient receiving a prosthetic ear after extensive cancer surgery. In the video, the man receives the newly crafted ear via a magnet retention attached to craniofacial implants that were placed by Feldman during an earlier surgery. The patient is wonderfully genuine in his gratitude, knowing how much more comfortable he’ll now feel when around other people, and the fact that he can now wear his glasses, something most people take for granted, but is very important for someone missing a part of his face. So, what does it take to get into this field? Feld- man replies without hesitation: “Compassion—and patience.” And she laughs heartily. It’s clear that for her, those are not just words. u “Every [CDM] professor…made a difference in my life.” —Elizabeth Feldman