Rogerio Castilho named interim chair of Periodontics and Oral Medicine department2 min read
Ann Arbor, Mich., July 13, 2020 – School of Dentistry faculty member Dr. Rogerio Castilho has been named interim chair for the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, effective Aug. 1.
Castilho is an associate professor in the department and serves as associate chair for its Division of Oral Pathology, Oral Medicine and Radiology.
Dean Laurie McCauley announced that Castilho will lead the department on an interim basis until a successor has been appointed to succeed Dr. William Giannobile, who becomes dean of the Harvard University School of Dental Medicine on Sept. 1. McCauley said she hopes to announce plans for a search for the chair position in coming months.
Castilho received his DDS degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas and his MSc and PhD in Oral Pathology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He completed his postdoctoral training in epithelial and cancer biology at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
Helping to lead online course creation at the school, Castilho co-created the “Dentistry 101” MOOC, or massive open online course, designed as an overview of the profession and featuring a number of the school’s faculty. He also helped develop the junior faculty leadership program to assist with the career advancement of the school’s early-career faculty.
Castilho’s research involves the study of the molecular mechanisms and epigenetic modifications responsible for the maintenance of stem cells and the regulatory signaling pathways during wound-healing, as well as in chronic inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity, including periodontal disease. He has published more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine and is an ad-hoc reviewer for more than 20 different scientific journals, including Cell Stem Cell and Cancer Research, among others. A prolific mentor and advisor, he has provided counsel for more than 40 students.
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The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the school to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide. For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit us on the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu. Contact: Lynn Monson, associate director of communications, at [email protected], or (734) 615-1971.