Several faculty and students from the Columbia University School of Dental & Oral Surgery (SDOS) have recently been honored as leaders in their fields. Among the honorees are:
Dr. Burton L. Edelstein, D.D.S, M.P.H, Columbia University SDOS professor of dentistry and public health and chair of the Section of Social and Behavioral Sciences was awarded the Public Advocacy Award by the Friends of the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research.
Dr. Edelstein was also awarded the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Presidential Citation for contributions to dental education and the oral health of the public at the ADEA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Baltimore, MD.
In addition, Dr. Edelstein was awarded the Chicago Dental Society Cushing Award for raising public awareness about oral health.
Dr. Edelstein was a practicing pediatric dentist in Connecticut before turning his attention to health policy issues. With support from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Dental Education Association, he founded the Children's Dental Health Project and devoted his career to oral health initiatives that affect youngsters. Dr. Edelstein served as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and spent four years with the oral health initiatives of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He chaired the U.S. Surgeon General’s Workshop on Children and Oral Health and authored the child section of the Report on Oral Health in America.
Leslie W. Seldin, D.D.S., SDOS '66, associate clinical professor of dentistry, is the recipient of the New York State Dental Association (NYSDA) Jarvie-Burkhart award, the organization's highest honor, in recognition of outstanding service to mankind though dentistry. Dr. Seldin has served as president of the New York County Dental Society, head of NYSDA, and vice president of the American Dental Association. He is currently General Chairman of the Greater New York Dental Meeting and is on the Columbia University School of Dental & Oral Surgery Advisory Council.
Elizabeth Panzer, Columbia University SDOS Class of 2007 received the Horace Wells Club Trust for the second year in a row. The Horace Wells Club, named for Dr. Horace Wells, the discoverer of anesthesia, is committed to supporting dental education for Connecticut citizens. Dr. Horace Wells, who was from Hartford, CT, discovered anesthesia in December 1844 – a discovery that is responsible for relieving pain during medical and dental surgery and opening doors to new depths of surgery.
The Horace Wells Club, formed in 1894 on the fiftieth anniversary of Wells' great discovery, meets every year on the anniversary of his discovery, to remember this great benefactor and to foster the study of anesthesiology.
“As a lifelong resident of Ridgefield, Connecticut, I look forward to returning to my home state and serving my community as a Dental professional,” said Panzer. “With the help of The Horace Wells Club trust, I have been able to make the financial investment a little less burdensome.”
Kael Rogers, Columbia University SDOS Class of 2007, has received the 2005 Minority Dental Student Scholarship from the American Dental Association. The scholarship is awarded annually based on academic performance and financial need to students in minority groups that have been identified as being underrepresented in dental school enrollment. The scholarship is funded in part by Harry J. Bosworth Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Proctor & Gamble, Oral B Laboratories and John O. Butler Co.
Brock Goodman, Columbia University SDOS Class of 2007 also received a Dental Student Scholarship from the American Dental Association. The $2,500 will help support Goodman’s SDOS tuition, and was awarded based on recommendations and academic achievement.
Saleem Josephs, Columbia University SDOS Class of 2006 received a $5,000 grant from the Paul and Louse Johnson Foundation. Johnson is simultaneously pursuing three graduate degrees at Columbia – his MBA at Columbia’s business school and MPH at the Mailman School of Public Health in addition to his DDS at Columbia SDOS. He was selected to present at the “Quest for Excellence in Dental Education Symposium: Student Excellence in Education and Service,” as part of the 2005 ADEA Annual Meeting and Exposition. Josephs presented his project, “The Student National Dental and Multicultural Student Association of Columbia University,” on March 8, 2005.
Katayoun Yaraghi, Columbia University SDOS Class of 2005, received the American Dental Education Association/Listerine Preventive Dentistry Scholarship. The scholarship was awarded at the 2005 ADEA Annual Session and Exhibition on March 6. The $2,500 scholarship will be used toward Yaraghi’s SDOS tuition.