Christopher Halliday, DDS, MPH, dean, ATSU Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health, has been appointed to the State of Missouri’s student loan authority. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Dr. Halliday on Aug. 27 to serve on the board for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA).
Prior to becoming dean at ATSU-MOSDOH, Dr. Halliday served as chief of staff for the U.S. surgeon general and chief dental officer for the U.S. Public Health Service. He is also a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service.
Dr. Halliday’s term on the MOHELA board ends Oct. 22, 2013. He will begin serving immediately but will need confirmation by the Missouri Senate when lawmakers return to the Capitol.
Kirksville, Mo.– Christopher Halliday, DDS, MPH, dean, ATSU Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health, has been appointed to the State of Missouri’s student loan authority. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Dr. Halliday on Aug. 27 to serve on the board for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA).
Prior to becoming dean at ATSU-MOSDOH, Dr. Halliday served as chief of staff for the U.S. surgeon general and chief dental officer for the U.S. Public Health Service. He is also a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service.
Dr. Halliday’s term on the MOHELA board ends Oct. 22, 2013. He will begin serving immediately but will need confirmation by the Missouri Senate when lawmakers return to the Capitol.
Corbin Popp, D4, ASDOH, is a co-creator of Lightwire Theater (http://www.lightwiretheater.com/index.php). They were in the quarter finals of America’s Got Talent and now have advanced to the semi-finals which will be held September 4 and 5. Be sure to tune-in and cast your vote for Lightwire Theater.
ATSU-ASDOH is the recipient of a $10,000 National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF) grant to provide education, and preventive and treatment services for at-risk children. The funds will be used to continue the ATSU-ASDOH Pinal County Tooth Fairy project in Apache Junction. ATSU-ASDOH works with the Apache Junction Unified School District to have dental students provide oral health education, screenings, and fluoride varnish treatments to underserved children. [read more]
ATSU Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) postgraduate orthodontic program celebrated the graduation of its fourth class of residents at the Arizona Country Club in Phoenix on Aug. 16.
Residents Jamie Haas, DMD, DHSc; Leo Toureno, DDS, DHSc; and Chase O. Dansie, DDS, DHSc, gave presentations at the event. Graduates received a certificate in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics.
“Our graduating class all successfully passed the American Board of Orthodontics phase II examination during their residency,” said Jae Hyun Park, DMD, MSD, MS, PhD, director, ATSU-ASDOH postgraduate orthodontic program. “Furthermore, all graduating residents successfully published their research articles in the eminent orthodontic and dental journals.” In addition to academics and clinical excellence, they actively participated in community service during their residency.”
“The school and community recognize and honor the choices and sacrifices that these individuals have made,” added Dr. Park. “We wish them well and encourage them to keep learning and growing as they venture out to start the next chapter of their lives.”
ATSU has partnered with the internationally known Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., in their Barrow Concussion Network. The network is the most comprehensive concussion prevention, treatment, and education program for young athletes in the nation.
Under the leadership of Barrow physicians and the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA), the network will include mandatory concussion education, voluntary pre-injury baseline testing, post-injury medical resources to all AIA schools and provide groundbreaking research on injured Arizona students. ATSU joins other network partners, the Arizona Cardinals and AIA.
Leading the initiative at ATSU is Tamara Valovich McLeod, PhD, ATC, professor, interdisciplinary health sciences – athletic training. According to Dr. McLeod, ATSU will be involved in providing to the Barrow concussion registry a record of student athletes with concussions in Arizona. ATSU will also be involved in the baseline testing of student athletes to measure their cognitive level. Another tool, ImPACT, a concussion evaluation system that helps determine when an athlete is well enough to return to play following a concussion, will also be used. According to Barrow, this is the first time that every athlete will have access to this valuable tool.
“This is a great collaborative partnership for ATSU, Barrow, and the other partners. It will allow us to expand our ability to continue our concussion research and bring our athletic training program and concussion research to a wider audience,” said Dr. McLeod.
Dr. McLeod was also featured on Good Morning Arizona, September 24, 2012.
The Arizona School of Health Sciences Alumni Board met Saturday, August 4, following the ASHS graduation ceremonies to begin planning several initiatives for engaging ASHS alumni with ATSU. Six new members were inducted, bringing greater representation from each ASHS program to the board. The board members now include (new members’ names are in bold):
Physical Therapy:
Trisha Perry, DPT, ’07 – Chair
Alisa Curry, DPT, ‘08
Athletic Training:
Kevin Messey, MS, ATC, ’01 – Vice Chair
Greg Janik, MS, ‘00
Audiology:
Sharon Gavin, AuD, ‘10
MAJ David Pedersen, AuD, ‘07
Occupational Therapy:
Dana Stumpp, MS, OTR/L, ‘10
Samantha Singler, OTR/L, ‘10
Human Movement:
Edward Yong, MS, ‘08
Doctor of Health Sciences:
Shannon Simmons, DHSc, ‘10
Jeremy Welsh, DHSc, ’10, RPA-C, EM-CAQ
Physician Assistant:
Geoffrey Hoffa, MPAS, PA-C, ‘00
Ian McLeod, PA-C, ATC, ‘08
The board is still looking to fill the opening for another representative from the Human Movement program.
ASHS alumni board members will be leading local and conference-related projects, including financial support, recruitment support, events, volunteer efforts, and continuing education. Any questions regarding alumni initiatives can be directed to alumniaz@atsu.edu.
David W. Smith, DO, KCOM ’62, has been selected by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) as one of its Great Pioneers in Osteopathic Medicine. The award is given to those who have made pioneering differences in osteopathic medicine.
Dr. Smith has been a member of the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics (AOAO) since 1966 and served as president from 1981 to 1982. He also served as president of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons in 1995 through which he received the Distinguished Osteopathic Surgeon Award.
Dr. Smith’s accomplishments include being the first to complete the first total joint implants in Stark County (Ohio), founding the first bone bank there, and installing the first “clean air system” for joint replacement surgery. He also developed surgical patents for cervical spine arthrodesis instrumentation.
The AOA Bureau of Osteopathic History will be audiotaping a living history with Dr. Smith, which will be featured in the AOA’s online History Museum.
*Photo courtesy of American Osteopathic Association
ASDOH second-year dental students were welcomed to their new classroom, the Jack and Jamie Learning Center, located on the first floor of the 5835 Building on the Mesa campus, by ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg on August 13.
Dr. Dillenberg recently made a pledge of $50,000 to name this space that will also be used for continuing education and community events. The name honors Dr. Dillenberg and his fiance, educator Jamie Moret.
The ATSU development team brought in a continental breakfast to mark the special occasion and Dr. Dillenberg spent time mingling with the students and making a few remarks. Dean Dillenberg joked with the students that he had even more empathy with them now as he, too, had a loan to pay off!
Eric L. Sauers, Ph.D., ATC, FNATA, professor and chair, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences department, ATSU-ASHS, has been appointed to the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).
The CAATE is the agency responsible for the accreditation of professional (entry-level) and post-professional athletic training educational degree programs and residency programs. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Inc. (NATA), cooperate to sponsor the CAATE and to collaboratively develop the standards for entry-level athletic training educational programs.
Dr. Sauers’ appointment will be for an initial term of three years commencing on July 1, 2012, extending until July 30, 2015.
