All News

As summer winds down, a group of 20 college students from across the country is reflecting on their collective experience conducting graduate-level research in the UCLA School of Dentistry for two months.

The UCLA School of Dentistry will increase access to comprehensive oral health care among geriatric and special needs populations through a new program made possible by the support of the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation’s largest-ever single gift to a dental school. The Community Care Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of California.

We are saddened to share that Thomson Sun, D.S.S., a continuing lecturer in the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Section of Restorative Dentistry, passed away on Saturday, August 20, 2022. He was 83.

Seven is widely considered a lucky number, but for a septet of second-year UCLA School of Dentistry students, self-determination and an intrinsic desire to reduce disparities in oral health care superseded any stroke of good fortune.

A new era of discovery is underway at the UCLA School of Dentistry with the appointment of Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila as associate dean for research and the Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Chair.

Beginning her UCLA tenure in May 2022, Dr. Hernandez-Kapila oversees a robust research program with more than $21M in contracts and grants awarded last fiscal year, with approximately 50 active initiatives at any given time.

The UCLA School of Dentistry is pleased to welcome Dr. Yusuke Hamada as its new program director in periodontics.

Dr. Flavia Pirih Associate Professor and Tarrson Family Endowed Chair in Periodontics has been accepted into the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM).

ELAM is a core program of Drexel University College of Medicine dedicated to developing professional and personal skills required to lead and manage in the health care environment. For additional information please visit www.drexel.edu/elam

A paper published in the January 17, 2022 online edition of the Journal of Immunology focuses on saliva COVID-19 antibody testing. The paper, "The Kinetics of COVID-19 Vaccine Response in a Community-Vaccinated Population," was selected as an Editor’s Choice. Authors include Michael K. Tu, Samantha H. Chiang, Richard A. Bender, David T. W. Wong and Charles M. Strom.

With a combined 80-year history at the School, you can imagine all of the challenges and changes seen by Dr. Carol Bibb and Ms. Francesca Moore over the decades. Two very different chance encounters led to their lifelong and fulfilling careers.

By Peggy McInerny, Director of Communications, UCLA International Institute

In honor of International Women’s Day 2022, the UCLA International Institute published a series of profiles of outstanding female Bruin students who will become tomorrow's leaders.