IU School of Dentistry awards honor research, teaching

Jeanette Newman, a research technician in the Bioresearch Facility of the Oral Health Research Institute, won first place in the John O. Butler Company’s Staff Awards for Research Excellence. Her study tested the ability of an experimental pet food additive to reduce dental plaque in domestic animals. Deidra Faust, a research technician in the oral facial genetics division of the Department of Oral Facial Development, received the second-place award for her study of a technique that aids in the scientific analysis of structures of the cranium and face.

The IUSD Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award for Research was awarded to Dr. Eric Everett, assistant professor of oral facial genetics at the School of Dentistry and of dermatology at the IU School of Medicine. Everett directs the school’s Mineralized Tissue and Histology Research Laboratory. He studies a variety of topics related to genetics, and currently is the principal investigator on a grant funded by the National Institutes of Health. Everett has served during the past year as president of the Society of Craniofacial Genetics, an international organization. He oversees the research of several IU graduate and undergraduate dentistry students, including a number of award-winning project participants. He has been a member of the IU faculty since 1996.

The IUSD Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching was awarded to Dr. Edwin Parks, associate professor of dental diagnostic sciences. Parks directs three graduate courses at the school and plays a key role in the pre-doctoral dental curriculum as a tutor and course module director. He also directs the school’s Patient Screening Clinic and chairs the curriculum committee. Parks complements his teaching schedule with activities in professional organizations and is frequently invited to present lectures to various professional groups. He receives excellent student evaluations for a teaching style that incorporates the most up-to-date teaching technologies. Parks served briefly on the IU faculty after completing an advanced dental degree at the university in 1995. He returned to IU as a full-time teacher in 1997.