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OHSU School of Dentistry Announces New Awards

   Portland, Ore.


Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry deans recently received notable awards:

Denice C.L. Stewart, D.D.S., M.H.S.A., associate dean for clinical affairs, associate professor of community dentistry, and director of quality assurance in the School of Dentistry, has been selected by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) to participate in its Leadership Institute Class 2006. The ADEA Leadership Institute is a yearlong program designed to develop the nation's most promising dental faculty into future leaders in dental and higher education. This year's class includes just 21 fellows nationwide. Stewart is one of two fellows from Oregon.

Thomas R. Shearer, Ph.D., associate dean for research, and professor and chairman of integrative biosciences in the School of Dentistry, has received a $300,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Eye Institute. The grant will enable Shearer to study how enzymes break down proteins in the lens of the eye, work that could someday help scientists better understand how cataracts are formed.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world -- many seniors outside the United States do not have access to cataract surgery. Shearer's NIH grant renewal (part of a 20-year, $2.4 million project led by Shearer) is an example of the School of Dentistry's renewed commitment to research. The school now has more than $5 million in research funding. During the past several years, the School of Dentistry has recruited more than a dozen new full-time faculty members, most of whom are active in research, and has converted more than 7,500 square feet into research laboratories.

The 105-year-old School of Dentistry is Oregon's only dental school and one of two dental schools in the Northwest. More than 80 percent of Oregon's dentists graduated from the OHSU School of Dentistry. For more information about the OHSU School of Dentistry, visit www.ohsu.edu/sod
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