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Committing to the Advancement of Orthodontic Education and Research Scott Barlow and Yoo Jin Kim Dr. Hovhanness Ivan Shnorhokian was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. He attended the American University of Beirut, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. While Dr. Shnorhokian had always had an interest in dentistry, the only dental school in Lebanon was on a French system. He set his mind to learning the French language and spent a summer working in France in order to immerse himself in the language. Ultimately, Dr. Shnorhokian followed his dreams and overcame personal, professional, and language barriers to receive his D.D.S. from Faculte Francaise de Medicine Et Ecole Dentaire, in Beirut, Lebanon. When reflecting on this experience, Dr. Shnorhokian remarked that “with motivation and drive, you are able to achieve anything you strive for.” Following completion of dental school in Lebanon, Dr. Shnorhokian entered work in private practice as a general practitioner. His interest in craniofacial growth and development motivated him to pursue specialty training in orthodontics, and he moved to the United States after being accepted to the orthodontic program at the University of Pittsburgh where he received his Master of Dental Science in Dentistry and Certificate
in Orthodontics. Dr. Shnorhokian continued his post-doctoral studies at the University of Pittsburgh and earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education in 1990. While in his orthodontic residency program, Dr. Shnorhokian had the first of his three children. His oldest daughter, currently working as a lawyer living in San Diego, has blessed him with two grandchildren. His second daughter works as a therapist in a hospital in Long Beach, and his third is a biomedical engineer working in Santa Monica. After serving as the Acting Chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Orthodontics, Dr. Shnorhokian moved to Los Angeles to join the USC Orthodontics Department as Clinical Associate Faculty. Dr. Shnorhokian also serves as the Co-Director of the Undergraduate Orthodontics course and thoroughly enjoys spending time with his students. As part of a continuous journey to construct an intellectually rewarding curriculum, his current goal is to allow DDS Class of 2024 students to use iTero scanners to analyze their own occlusion in preparation for the 2nd year Orthodontics course. Dr. Shnorhokian hopes that this exercise will allow students to better understand evolving diagnostic
The Explorer Journal 2021
technologies and help new clinicians to determine which of their future patients may benefit from referral to an orthodontist. After students complete the pre-clinical Orthodontics module, Dr. Shnorhokian hopes that they feel confident in properly identifying orthodontic needs. During his career at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Orthodontics, Dr. Shnorhokian was involved in various research projects. His earlier studies focused on the effects of sickle-cell disease on skeletal maturation of the dentofacial complex in American black children. The cephalometric results showed that patients with sickle-cell disease exhibit significantly retruded maxillary and mandibular incisors as well as a tendency to have a more protrusive maxilla and a more forward growth of the mandible. His work has since been cited by recent studies that focus on managing orthodontic treatment with sickle cell disease. The following year, his research regarding the influence of perennial allergic rhinitis with an allergic component (PRAC) on facial type was published. While working towards his Master of Dental Science degree and lat-
