Innovation Centers / Healthcare Education / Dentistry Center of Excellence

Dentistry Center of Excellence

For over one hundred and thirty-four years, Meharry’s School of Dentistry has provided educational opportunities for African Americans, ethnic minorities, and underrepresented/disadvantaged students through educational programs, service delivery and community outreach programs. The School of Dentistry plays a vital role in addressing oral health disparities within the United States and other underserved countries. We emphasize comprehensive evidence-based care, regardless of social or economic circumstances, geographical origin or ethnicity.

Established in 1988, Meharry’s Dentistry Center of Excellence remains a nationally recognized resource for providing a strong curriculum in clinical dentistry and basic principles of research. Forty percent of active African American dentists graduated from Meharry and a vast majority of our graduates practice in underserved communities. We ensure that research training is fully integrated within the academic programs, encouraging faculty and students to be fully engaged in research activities.

Research support for students is available and has focused on:

oral biology and systemic health
issues surrounding opioid use
diabetes
intimate partner violence
cancer
behavioral sciences
women’s health
HIV/AIDS

For more information, contact the School of Dentistry Student & Academic Affairs.

Dentistry Center of Excellence Publications

A mouse model for hemoglobin SC disease recapitulates characteristic human pathologies.
Jinbin Zhai, James B Papizan, Yu Yao, Elizabeth D Arnold, Jing Yu, Tam Tran, Natalie Geiger, Jahnavi Gollamudi, Danielle Little, Ravirajsinh N Jadeja, Jaison John, Ali Khalighifar, Kalin Mayberry, Justina McEvoy, Randi Nicole Rooney, Krishnan Venkataraman, Hieu Vu, Jingjing Zhang, Michael A Dyer, Patrick G Gallagher, Hyacinth Hyacinth, Laura J Janke, Pamela M Martin, Min Ni, Jian Xu, Jonathan S Yen, Yan Zheng, Mitchell J Weiss, Shondra M Pruett-Miller

Mutational landscape of triple-negative breast cancer in African American women.
Song Yao, Lei Wei, Qiang Hu, Song Liu, Zarko Manojlovic, Peter N Fiorica, Mark Long, Gary R Zirpoli, Qiuyin Cai, Jirong Long, Jie Ping, Mollie E Barnard, Yuxin Jin, Mitsuko Murakami, Jianmin Wang, Qianqian Zhu, Warren Davis, Jianhong Chen, Rochelle P Ondracek, Thaer Khoury, Shipra Gandhi, Kazuaki Takabe, Naomi Ko, Maureen Sanderson, Chi-Chen Hong, Elisa V Bandera, David W Craig, Christine B Ambrosone, Julie R Palmer, Wei Zheng, John D Carpten

AI-Enhanced Fluorescein Angiography Detection of Diabetes-Induced Silent Retinal Capillary Dropout and RNA-Seq Identification of Pre-Symptomatic Biomarkers.
Yiyan Peng, Huishi Toh, Dennis Clegg, Peng Jiang

Community-based participatory research to guide adoption of culturally responsive trauma-informed HIV care throughout Nashville, Tennessee.
L Lauren Brown, Jessica M Perkins, A Jessica Acuña, Julie Thacker, Clare Bolds, Mary Hawkins, Jamie L Stewart, Julie Barroso, Sadie B Sommer, Joshua Van der Eerden, Bryan W Heckman, Amna Osman, Tarik Smith, LaToya Alexander, Allie Denton, Tiye Link, Anita Crawley, Rosemary Nabaweesi, Maria Aboubaker, Joanna Shaw-KaiKai, Norman Foster, Beverly Glaze-Johnson, Jessica Hoke, Carolyn M Audet, Jessica M Sales, April C Pettit

Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma: A Contemporary Review of Challenges and Advances.
Amanda Silver Karcioglu, Cristian Slough, Symone V Jordan, Taylor D Brown, Mac Kenzie J Reece, Desiree T Campbell, Daniella Dennis, Amisheila Gloria Kinua, Sarah L Spaulding, Ariana Goli, Keith Bible, Jeremy L Freeman, Kate Newbold, Ashok R Shaha, Mark Urken, Mark Zafereo, Amr H Abdelhamid Ahmed, Gregory W Randolph

Auditory and visual alarm designs impact clinicians' perceived cognitive workload.
Alexandra G Lee, Ramez R Mikhail, Michelle Shin, Ian Grant, Svetlana K Eden, Matthew S Shotwell, Joseph J Schlesinger