{"id":139206,"date":"2018-06-28T09:35:55","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T13:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=139206"},"modified":"2018-07-02T09:53:44","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T13:53:44","slug":"new-uconn-dental-dean-named","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2018\/06\/new-uconn-dental-dean-named\/","title":{"rendered":"New Dental Dean Named"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of Connecticut has recruited Sharon M. Gordon as UConn School of Dental Medicine\u2019s<\/a> next dean. She will be the first woman to serve as dean of the dental school in its more than 50-year history.<\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/a>
Sharon Gordon has been named as the new dean of dental medicine at UConn Health. She will join the University on Aug. 31.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gordon is a distinguished educator, clinician, and scientist. She will join UConn Health on Aug. 31 from East Carolina University\u2019s School of Dental Medicine in Greenville, North Carolina, where she is currently associate dean for innovation and discovery and professor and chair of the Department of Foundational Sciences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m honored to be selected to lead the UConn School of Dental Medicine at this juncture of its history,\u201d Gordon says. \u201cIts strong research programs, model curriculum, and reputation for excellence in clinical education set the stage for building on its trajectory of success. I\u2019m looking forward to engaging in active dialogue with faculty, staff, students, university colleagues, and alumni to determine priorities for development.\u201d<\/p>\n

As ECU School of Dental Medicine\u2019s inaugural research dean, she has focused on building research capacity; designing the research laboratories for the dental school; and doubling extramural research funding over a five-year period.<\/p>\n

Previously, for more than two decades \u2013 first at the NIH and then at the University of Maryland \u2013 Gordon\u2019s accomplishments were notable for creating innovative dental curriculum, and for research training and career development, with an emphasis on clinicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider myself a curious clinician,\u201d she says, \u201cconducting research to improve patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon has been continuously funded for her research since departing NIH, and has taken part in multiple clinical trials that have led to FDA-approved dental therapeutics for pain control.<\/p>\n

Her clinical and research interests center on improving the management of pain through improved analgesia and anesthesia, as well as accelerating oral wound healing, particularly following tissue injury or mucosal perturbations due to cancer therapy.<\/p>\n

Gordon is passionate about engaging dental students in research, serving as a faculty mentor and advisor, as a National Faculty Advisor for the National Student Research Group of the American Association of Dental Research, and with the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA).<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>Dr. Gordon\u2019s joining the School of Dental Medicine is an exciting opportunity for the School and the University,\u201d says Craig H. Kennedy, UConn provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. \u201cHer background in extramurally funded research will help advance, in tandem, the clinical and research missions of the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Andy Agwunobi, UConn Health\u2019s CEO and executive vice president of health affairs, says, \u201c<\/em>We are extremely excited for Dr. Gordon\u2019s recruitment to UConn as the new dean of our prestigious dental school. We look forward to Dr. Gordon\u2019s strong leadership in helping us write the next chapter of innovation for UConn School of Dental Medicine across its nationally recognized, cutting-edge educational and dental training, clinical care, and research efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon received her doctoral degree in dental surgery from the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School at San Antonio, and completed dental residency training at San Antonio\u2019s Medical Center Hospital, with additional residency training and fellowships at the NIH\u2019s National Institute of Dental Research. She also earned a Master of Public Health in epidemiology and a Ph.D. in clinical investigation at Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n

Gordon takes over from Dr. R. Lamont \u201cMonty\u201d MacNeil<\/a>, who is stepping down this summer from his role as dental dean after 12 years. MacNeil will remain a member of the faculty, while taking a sabbatical to represent UConn on the national stage as chair of the Board of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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