DDS and DHY Students to Participate in New Global Initiative Program

The college’s new Global Initiative Program will broaden students’ educational experiences through international engagement and faculty collaboration with global research counterparts. That translates into opportunities for dental and dental hygiene students to visit partner institutions abroad where they will participate in targeted programs to expose them to diverse healthcare settings and innovative healthcare techniques, typically during the college’s planned breaks when the clinics are closed.

Each student will receive elective course credit for participating in the program that will provide field experience in global oral health service and learning. The program is administered by Andréa Ferreira Zandoná, DDS, MSD, PhD, Executive Associate Dean and OSU Global Initiatives Liaison, and resident directors: Matthew Messina, DDS, Associate Professor and Director of the Dental Oncology Clinic; Danielle Rulli, DHSc, MS, Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Science in Dental Hygiene Program, and Robert Gardner, DDS, Assistant Professor.

The college’s partner institutions are São Paulo State University in Brazil; Pacific Dental Services Foundation in Guatemala; and the Institute of Science Tokyo in Japan. The first trip will occur in January 2026, when a group of 12 dental and dental hygiene students and two faculty members will travel to Guatemala to provide care to an underserved population at the Clinica Dental in Xenacoj.

Contact Dr. Andréa Ferreira Zandoná to learn more, or provide scholarship support for students’ participation in global initiatives.