College of Dental Medicine Lasting Impressions Magazine

The NSU Chi Psi chapter was established in 2000 as the 68th chapter and has 200 members in the categories of alumni, honorary, and faculty. Alumni members consist of senior students from the upper scholastic 20 percent of the class. “From this group, no more than 12 percent of the entire senior class are selected who, in addition to scholar- ship, have demonstrated exemplary traits of character and potential qualities of future professional growth and attainments,” Quinton said. FACULTY HONORED Approximately every five years, at least one faculty member is inducted. During 2017, the chapter honored two faculty members—CDM Dean Linda C. Niessen, D.M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P., and Ana Karina Mascarenhas, B.D.S., Dr.P.H., M.P.H., associate dean of research. “Dr. Niessen is the type of professional who we, as educators, hope our students will become,” said CDM professor Michael A. Siegel, D.D.S., M.S., who nominated Niessen for OKU induction. Siegel also pointed out that Niessen teaches predoctoral and postgraduate students and mentored three generations of women dentists individually and through her American Association of Women Dentists leadership. The NSU chapter also has a unique footnote in OKU. Michael A. Siegel and CDM professor Sharon Crane Siegel, D.D.S., M.S., M.B.A., are the only husband and wife to rise to the presidency of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Supreme Chapter (national chapter) in the 100-year history of the honor society. “It’s an especially noteworthy event for the Chi Psi chapter,” Quinton said. For more information on OKU, alumni may contact Brian Suzuki. He can be reached by mailing P.O. Box 5472, Plymouth, Michigan 48170, by calling (734) 335-2844, or by emailing okusupremechapter@gmail.com . u NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 17 Linda Niessen, D.M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P., CDM dean, was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She was elected to receive this honor by her AAAS peers. Niessen is one of 396 AAAS members who were chosen by their peers for “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.” Specifically, she was lauded for her distinguished contributions to the field of dental public health, particularly geriatric oral medicine, dental services, and health policy, as well as access to oral health care. She was inducted as a Fellow during the AAAS annual meeting in Austin, Texas. “It is truly an honor to be named a Fellow by this presti- gious group of peers,” Niessen said. “The AAAS promotes scientific discovery, translational research, and science education throughout the world. The interdisciplinary nature of the members of AAAS advances and strengthens the field of dentistry by supporting research and discoveries that will ultimately benefit patients around the globe.” Niessen, who joined NSU in October 2013, previously served as a clinical professor in the Department of Restor- ative Dentistry at Texas A&M University’s Baylor College of Dentistry. Her research interests include geriatric oral research and education, epidemiology of oral diseases in older adults, and oral health public policy. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of New Mexico and her Doctor of Dental Medicine, Master of Public Health, and Master of Public Policy from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. u CDM DEAN NAMED FELLOW BY NATIONAL SCIENCE ORGANIZATION