Academic Updates
February 2023
Leadership Structure
Dr. Quiñonez announced the School's new faculty leadership structure at this month's Dentistry Council meeting:
- Dr. Noha Gomaa, Associate Director, Research
- Dr. Keven Hockley, Associate Director, Clinics
- Dr. Fernando Inocencio, Associate Director, Education
- Dr. Abbas Jessani, Assistant Director, Curriculum Renewal & Service Learning
- Dr. Peter McDermott, Assistant Director, Quality Improvement
These directors work with the following individuals to form the core leadership team of our School:
- Lisa Johnson, Director, Dentistry Operations
- Howard James, Administrative Officer
- Terri MacDougall, Manager, Dental Education
- Sylvie Richer, Manager, Clinic Operations
Following the departure of Dr. Joe Armstrong, Dr. Michael Shimizu has assumed the role of Interim Program Director of OMFS while recruitment gets underway for a permanent director.
Undergraduate Updates
Dr. Inocencio, Terri MacDougall, and the academic team are working on a plan to return Dentistry students to face to face (F2F) learning. The Curriculum Committee has been reorganized and will meet regularly to ensure the contents of our curriculum remain aligned with our program goals. Division Chairs have also begun to meet regularly to review curriculum content. Course Directors have been creating course outlines using standardized templates with updated competencies to ensure alignment with the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) and the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB).
Postgraduate Updates
The Graduate Orthodontics program review has been been approved by Western University's Senate. The admissions cycle for that program has wrapped up, and three incoming students have been selected. MD/DDS faculty are being sought to help develop an interdisciplinary Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) residency program, and interdisciplinary collaboration and trianing opportunities are being explored with Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery and Plastic Surgery.
