Celebrating Our Achievements
Spring 2023/2024
Since we last brought you updates in the Winter Newsletter, Dentistry has a lot to celebrate!
Schulich Awards of Excellence
Dentistry has once again been recognized with multiple recipients of Schulich Awards of Excellence. We want to congratulate the following individuals on their honours and we look forward to celebrating with them on May 28th.
Dr. Marcela Ibarra and Dr. Natalia Melo have both received a Schulich Educator Award. This award serves to recognize documented educational excellence in undergraduate education and to stimulate further development and achievement. It is worth noting that out of three Educator Awards that were given to Undergraduate faculty in 2024, two of the recipients are from Dentistry.
Two staff members are also being recognized with Schulich Awards of Excellence for Staff for their contributions to the Schulich community. Sylvie Richer has received the Inspirational Leadership Award. According to the criteria, this award recognizes an individual who inspires others to strive to be their personal and professional best. The award recipient would be considered “a Schulich Medicine & Dentistry staff champion," a description which definitely sounds like Sylvie! Sherri Moore is the recipient of this year’s Spirit Award, in recognition of her dedication to improving the lives of others both here at Dentistry and in the community at large.
We also want to congratulate the Dental Education Team (Natalie Brown, Bev Goldsmith, Danielle Lapthorne, Mari Long, Andrea Marsh, Lori Pancino, and Kim Scott) who were nominated under the Continuous Excellence category and another unofficial team (Jasmine Arsenault, Courtney D’Ariano, Kathryn Forbes, and Erin Robertson) who were nominated under the category of Innovation for their many improvements in clinic processes.
Congratulations to all the recipients and the nominees. Dentistry is increasingly being acknowledge for excellence, which speaks volumes about our quest to be the best!
Leadership Updates
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Anwar Al-fayume has been named Academic Lead for Continuing Dental Education (CDE). In his short time with Dentistry, Dr. Al-fayume has already made significant impacts to undergraduate teaching, and his energy and commitment will no doubt carry the CDE office to future success.
A TranscenDent Win
In other news, Dental Entrepreneurship, Business, and Innovation (DEBI) group recently organized its second Dental Business Case Competition named "TranscenDent." This competition united students from dental, business, and engineering backgrounds at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto to tackle crucial industry issues and present their solutions to a panel of eight judges.
Western University’s winning team devised a controller-like prototype equipped with customizable buttons, allowing patients to communicate their needs non-verbally, such as for suction or breaks, among other tailored options. The winning team comprised Deborah Park, Celina Tang, Urja Jain, Umaiza Ali, and June Chen. Congratulations to them!
Staff Mini-Spotlight
We have some runners among us, and wanted to share with you a couple of exciting successes. Akili Aitcheson completed the "Chilly Half Marathon" again, and Danielle Lapthorne kicked things up a notch by completing the 21 km NYC marathon!
