Drs. Lowe and Mogharabi Begin Board of Counselor Leadership Terms

Oariona Lowe, D.D.S., P.D. ’84, M.P.H. ’16, commenced her two-year term as chair of the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Board of Counselors on July 1, 2024, with Mitra Mogharabi ‘86, D.D.S. ’90, serving a concurrent tenure as vice-chair.

“With the appointments of Dr. Lowe and Dr. Mogharabi, our Board of Counselors remains a passionate, supportive, and visionary leadership arm of our School,” said Dean and Professor Paul H. Krebsbach, D.D.S., Ph.D. “I also want to thank Dr. Joan Otomo-Corgel for stewarding the Board with great aplomb over the past two academic years.”

Dr. Lowe, who practices alongside her husband at Lowe & Rossopoulos Dental Specialists, is a renowned expert in her field, earning the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Pediatric Dentist of the Year award in 2020. After beginning her career as an assistant professor at her D.D.S. alma mater, Howard University, Dr. Lowe’s affiliation with UCLA began in 1981 when she started her Pediatric Dentistry residency program. Over the past four decades, she has maintained deep ties to the university, her dental specialty, and the local oral health community.

In addition to serving on the Board of Counselors since 2010, Dr. Lowe is a lecturer in the Section of Pediatric Dentistry, chaired the UCLA Children’s Dental Center Renovation Campaign, and is the Dr. Oariona Lowe Endowed Scholarship benefactor. Among many philanthropic leadership roles throughout her career, she serves on the California Dental Association Board of Trustees and is a past president of both the Western Society of Pediatric Dentistry and the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry.

“Through personal engagement, I would like to inspire and develop a strong Board that understands how the School is expanding and is on the leading edge of dental education and research,” Dr. Lowe said. “Recruiting the right Board members and diversifying the membership will bring together our strengths to work successfully, enhancing our impact on the School of Dentistry.”

Dr. Mogharabi will collaborate closely with Dr. Lowe over the next two years, preparing to assume the role of Board Chair on July 1, 2026. She is the owner of Encino Boutique Dentistry and has worked as a continuing lecturer in the School's Section of Restorative Dentistry since 1991, teaching both preclinical courses and in the clinic. Dr. Mogharabi joined the Board of Counselors in 2020, and alongside her Board peers, mentors ambitious upper-division UCLA dental students through the annual Board of Counselors' Leadership Institute.

In addition to her work at UCLA, Dr. Mogharabi made significant contributions as Chair of the Parent Council at Barnard College, Columbia University, during a five-year term. Currently, she is a trustee of the Iranian American Women's Foundation, where she is committed to mentoring and empowering the next generation.

"As a double Bruin, as the parent of Sara Ardehali, D.D.S. '23, and with over three decades of teaching at the School, my dedication to my alma mater runs deep,” Dr. Mogharabi shared. “UCLA has profoundly shaped both my personal and professional journey, and it is deeply rewarding to give back to an institution that has been such an integral part of my life."

Joan Otomo-Corgel, D.D.S. ’76, M.P.H. ’80, remains on the Board following a successful her two-year term as chair. Among her initiatives, Dr. Otomo-Corgel spearheaded fundraising for the Dr. Henry H. Takei Endowed Periodontal Symposium, a biannual event inaugurated last year with the second edition scheduled for September 2025.