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NYSDA News December 2024
UB Dental School Names New Chair of Restorative Dentistry
GRACE DE SOUZA, D.D.S., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry at the University of Louisville (UL) School of Dentistry, has been named the new chair of the Department of Restorative Dentistry in the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, effective Jan. 2. When she joins the faculty, she will also teach courses as a professor of comprehensive dentistry.
Dr. De Souza earned a D.D.S., a master’s and Ph.D. in comprehensive care/ restorative dentistry from the State University of Campinas, Brazil. From 2004 to 2005, she was a visiting scholar in New York University College of Dentistry’s Department of Biomaterials and Biomimetics. As a researcher, she focused on understanding the degradation process of biomaterials as a way to improve patients’ quality of care. Her current biomaterials research includes studies on the stability of 3D-printed dentures and the crystalline stability of zirconia.
She has also developed an interest in factors related to equity in dental education, academic dentistry and health care. She is the principal investigator of a federal grant focused on recruitment and retention of pediatric and primary care dental faculty to treat diverse and underserved populations in Kentucky.
The Department of Restorative Dentistry is the largest of the dental school’s seven academic departments. As chair, Dr. De Souza will be responsible for the department’s overall administration, financial stewardship, academic oversight and faculty development.
