Dr. Manuel Valerin has joined the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences (OMDS), as well as the Interdisciplinary Program in Oral Cancer at the University’s Cancer Center at its College of Medicine , as a Clinical Assistant Professor. Dr. Valerin’s academic dental career has taken him from his native Costa Rica to Scotland, Ohio, Maryland, and North Carolina . After a move to Oglesby, IL , last year to work in the Illinois Valley Dental Practice there, Dr. Valerin welcomes his return to academe.
OMDS head Dr. Joel Epstein wanted another clinician in his department, and Dr. Valerin has ample experience, having earned a certificate in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Ohio State and a certificate in oral medicine at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC , where he was chief resident.
“I was doing cancer surgery with the ear, nose, and throat department there, and was very proactive in research as well,” Dr. Valerin noted. He also did a rotation in oral medicine and oral surgery at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School in Scotland, and one in the management of facial chronic pain and salivary gland disorders at the National Institute of Health and Navy Hospital in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Valerin had earlier earned his DDS as the University Veritas School of Dentistry in Costa Rica .
“With all the hospital training I’ve had, I’m really looking forward to using those skills at UIC,” Dr. Valerin continued. “Private practice is nice, but it is not fully utilizing my training. I have my license to do sedation, I can handle pre-transplant dental care for patients facing organ transplants, and I can work with patients about to undergo radiation therapy as well.”
With a background that would have made him welcome at any dental school, Dr. Valerin chose UIC because of Dr. Epstein and Dean Bruce Graham. “I met Dr. Epstein at an oral medicine meeting in Arizona and I was very impressed,” Dr. Valerin noted. “He told me about how the Dean’s Vision is to bring up the level of the school and that it is the only dental school left in Chicago . I liked that. I don’t like to be just one of the bunch anyway—I like change and wanted to come to the big city.”
Dr. Valerin was a member of the Costa Rican Triathlon National Team from 1993 to 1995. The former triathloner’s family keeps him active in his personal life as well. Dr. Valerin and his wife, Kristy, have three children: Katelyn, 10, Kylie, 8, and Matthew, 2. “We like the outdoors, we like to camp, and we love water sports with jet-skis and boats,” he said. “And I’m considering going back to triathlons. I also coach soccer for eight-to-ten year olds. I even sponsor the team, too.”