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Following a three-year hiatus necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual educational and cultural exchange between the UCLA School of Dentistry, Meikai University, and Asahi University resumes this week as 10 Japanese dental students and two faculty members visit Westwood. A similarly-sized Bruin delegation, who served as hosts, then crossed the Pacific Ocean from March 23 to April 1.

Awards presented to 10 outstanding researchers and a keynote address on the fascinating oral microbiome highlighted the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Research Day 2023, held Feb. 8 in the Neuroscience Research Building. 

Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila – who joined the School in July 2022 as associate dean of research – presided over this annual showcase of scientific discovery for the first time.

Iman Evans, D.D.S. ‘25, is the current president of SIDE. A native of Charlotte, N.C., Evans earned her B.A. in Spanish from the College of Charleston before making the move to Westwood. As Black History Month begins, Evans shares her organizational goals, and how she’d like to see dentistry make even greater strides toward becoming a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive field of medicine.

Dr. Henry Cherrick, a professor of oral pathology who served as dean of the UCLA School of Dentistry from 1988 to 1995, passed away Jan. 24, 2023, in Davie, Florida. He was 84.
 
Dr. Cherrick’s affiliation with UCLA spanned two different terms. Arriving at the dental school as assistant professor of oral pathology in 1971, he was promoted to associate professor two years later and then to full professor in 1977. That year, he was honored with the UCLA Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
 

Wednesday, May 10, marked the culmination of the School of Dentistry’s annual Board of Counselors’ Leadership Institute (BOCLI); however, the personal growth, goal-setting, and mentorship for its 12 student participants will continue well beyond this four-month program. 

Evelyn Chung, D.D.S., has been appointed associate dean of academic affairs for the UCLA School of Dentistry, beginning her appointment effective Jan. 3, 2023.
 
In this role, Dr. Chung will oversee the development and advancement of all curricula and courses in the School’s doctorate programs. She also holds a leadership role in the SOD’s Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) process, occurring every seven years with the next scheduled for 2026.
 

The UCLA School of Dentistry is pleased to announce Konita Wilks, D.D.S. ’11, P.D. ’14, as its 2022 Alumni of the Year.

Dr. Wilks currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, a 355-bed acute care hospital serving the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and High Desert; it is one of four public hospitals in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Appointed to this role in April 2022, she is the first dentist to ever serve as CEO of an LA County Health Services hospital.

A team of scientists led by the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Ichiro Nishimura, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., D.M.D., has discovered a promising treatment to prevent or alleviate bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) through a newly formulated topical medication. 
 

We are saddened to share that John Duane Jones, D.D.S., a continuing lecturer in the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Section of Orthodontics, passed away on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, after an extended illness. He was 83.

Francisco Ramos-Gomez, D.D.S., M.S., M.P.H., Chair of the UCLA School of Dentistry's Division of Preventative and Restorative Sciences, received the Oral Health Service Award at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 8.