Awards Presented at Annual Staff and Faculty Recognition Event
On June 2nd, the college hosted its annual awards celebration that honors staff and faculty members’ contributions and achievements. The event included the presentation of the Outstanding Staff Award and the Mark Dawson Staff Award for Excellence, as well as five faculty awards that recognize accomplishments and excellence in teaching and research.
The Outstanding Staff Award recognizes full-time staff members who demonstrate work performance and efforts "above and beyond," while also inspiring others to excellence. Chosen by his College of Dentistry peers, this year's award recipient is James Moulton, Web Communications Specialist. The Mark Dawson Staff Award for Excellence honors outstanding contributions from a staff member who facilitates the mission of the college in a significant way. The recipient is Carol Hemmerly, Education Program Manager in the Office of Academic Affairs.
The faculty awards included the Stazen Junior Award that is given to a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional promise in the field of research. The winner was Kyulim Lee, DMD, MS, PhD, an assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Dentistry. She was recognized for her NIH-funded research on cancer therapies, mucositis, and the oral microbiome in children. The Stazen Senior Award was presented to Susan Mallery, DDS, MS, PhD, Chair of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. A nationally recognized researcher, Dr. Mallery has conducted NIH-funded projects for decades, focusing on chemoprevention of oral cancer by natural products.
The Postle Teaching Award, which recognizes outstanding instruction for undergraduates, pre-doctoral, and graduate students, was given to Kelly Kennedy, DDS, MS, a professor-clinical in the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Dental Anesthesiology. She was honored for making vital contributions to the didactic and clinical instruction of residents. The Fields Award for nationally recognized research was presented to Justin Kaspar, PhD, an assistant professor in the Division of Biosciences. Dr. Kaspar’s NIH funding supports his research on interactions between supragingival biofilm communities and pathogens such as Streptococcus mutans. And the Larry J. Peterson Award was presented to Dr. Yi-Chu Wu, an Assistant Professor-Clinical in the Division of Periodontology. The award recognizes junior faculty members who have taught for 1-3 and shown exceptional enthusiasm for teaching.