School of Dentistry

Mark A. Reynolds, DDS, PhD, MA, Dean

The first dental college in the world, the highly ranked University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) continues to shape the profession today. The Catalyst Campaign has bolstered our greatest strengths: graduating highly skilled practitioners prepared to become the oral health leaders of the future, providing superlative patient care, and recruiting and retaining world-class innovators, clinicians, and educators. Increased financial aid enhances our ability to attract gifted students while corporate educational partnerships help provide them with access and exposure to new and emerging technologies. UMSOD’s faculty is improving dental, oral, and craniofacial health through pioneering research and advances in discovery-based therapeutics.

Catalyst Impact

Established New Scholarships

We opened doors to greater student opportunity by creating 43 new scholarships and increasing our endowments by $4 million. Recruiting and supporting qualified students is critical to our mission of fostering an inclusive learning environment that nurtures excellence, achievement, and leadership.

Dean’s Scholarship for Leadership and Excellence

Two highly coveted Dean’s Scholarships for Leadership and Excellence were established to celebrate outstanding student leaders who aspire to have a positive impact on their communities. The scholarship is supported primarily by the “Socks for Scholarships” fundraising effort, which has received more than $120,000.

New Endowed Professorships

To support excellence in teaching, patient care, and research, five endowed professorships including the inaugural endowment — the Frederick G. Smith,

MS, DDS, and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS, Endowed Professorship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery — were established. Endowed professorships help us recruit and retain dynamic educators and innovators.

Served Maryland Residents

Our students and faculty engaged the community through initiatives including Mission of Mercy events, which provide underserved Maryland residents with no-cost dental care, and the school’s dental clinics, which annually offer oral health care to more than 20,000 patients in Baltimore, the state of Maryland, and the Mid-Atlantic region.

Strategic Collaborations Expanded

We strengthened strategic collaborations with corporate educational partners such as Nobel Biocare USA, Bien Air USA, and DrFirst that enhance the school’s ability to train students in new digital dentistry techniques and offer patients state-of-the-art care.

Nearly 80% of our dental graduates go on to complete post-graduate residency programs

No.9 among public institutions for National Institutes of Health funding FY21

More than 20,000 people served through nearly 90,000 patient visits each year

Our dental students completed more than 4,000 hours of public service last year

Largest provider of oral health care to people living with HIV and Medicaideligible children in Maryland

Advanced Research and Discovery

Our exemplary faculty researchers pioneered novel investigations that are poised to transform patient care.

• Robert K. Ernst, PhD, is developing a technology that identifies infections by designing a “barcode” for each pathogen strain.

• Radi Masri, DDS, MS, PhD, investigates neuronal mechanisms of chronic, intractable pain and develops innovative methods to alleviate pain. He also developed technology to enhance performance of dental restorations.

• Man-Kyo Chung, DMD, PhD, is seeking novel solutions to chronic oral pain by studying the benefits of capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers.

• Tao Lowe, PhD, is leading groundbreaking translational research in biomaterials to develop delivery platforms capable of crossing biological barriers and offering the controlled release of drugs. C p In UMSOD’s simulation labs, predoctoral students learn state-of-the art techniques while honing their clinical skills. q UMSOD’s faculty members teach and guide senior dental students in the clinics as they design treatment plans and provide oral health care to patients.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND