NSU CDM Lasting Impressions Spring 2019

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 15 oral health and dental education, research, and leader- ship. The award was presented in March during the annual American Dental Education Association meeting in Chicago, Illinois. “The dual-degree graduates are truly pioneers with an NSU Edge, integrating oral and overall health. These graduates are developing new types of practices that blend medical and dental management as they care for their patients. Some are practicing dentistry and incor- porating medicine into their practices, while others are practicing medicine and incorporating oral health,” said Linda C. Niessen, D.M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P., dean and professor of the CDM. “The dual osteopathic medical/dental degree is ideal for our college, where our mission is to serve the underserved. Many of our graduates work in rural or underserved areas, where knowledge and skill in both disciplines is a tremen- dous asset,” added Elaine M. Wallace, D.O., M.S. 4 , dean of the KPCOM. “Our dual osteopathic medicine/dental graduates follow this course. Too few doctors realize the importance of the diseases of the mouth in the patient’s overall health care. Our dual students remind us to remember the importance of dental diseases in a patient’s well-being. We are extremely proud of these students and the work they do.” VISIONARY APPROACH The D.O./D.M.D. program launched in the fall of 2007 under the direction of Robert Uchin, D.D.S., former CDM dean, and Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc., former KPCOM dean. Only NSU offers a D.O./D.M.D. program, according to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. This unique curricu- lum enabled the CDM to create a D.M.D. advanced stand- ing program for a physician interested in pursuing an oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) residency. OMFS residencies require a D.M.D. or D.D.S. to matriculate. “The curriculum was initially the most challenging aspect of the program development. In coordination with our colleagues in the KPCOM, some changes have been made over the years based on each program’s curricular needs and other factors,” said Abby J. Brodie, D.M.D., M.S., associate dean for academic affairs in the CDM and the curriculum architect on the dental degree side of the innovative program. continued on page 16 NSU D.O./D.M.D. DUAL-DEGREE ALUMNI 2013 • Amber Johnson practicing oral and maxillofacial surgery in Virginia • Randall Rodriguez-Torres practicing dentistry in Florida 2014 • Brittanie Dillon completing residency education 2015 • Aaron Goodwin practicing medicine and dentistry in Lake Worth, Florida 2016 • Brishti Biswas completing residency education 2017 • Dmitriy Kravchenko completing residency education • Ryan Semensohn completing residency education CURRENTLY ENROLLED • Zachary Heller scheduled to graduate in 2021 • Alexander Powell scheduled to graduate in 2023 Left: Accepting the Gies Award are, from left, Delia Harper- Celestine, KPCOM assistant dean of student and alumni affairs; Elaine M. Wallace, KPCOM dean; Aaron Goodwin, D.O., D.M.D., M.B.S., 2015 graduate of the program; Linda C. Niessen, CDM dean; Abby Brodie, CDM associate dean for academic affairs; and Bruce Donoff, Harvard School of Dental Medicine dean, who introduced the NSU team. t