Avishai Sadan named dean of USC School of Dentistry
Los Angeles—The University of Southern California announced March 23 the appointment of Dr. Avishai Sadan as the new dean of the School of Dentistry.
Dr. Sadan is currently the associate dean of clinical affairs and professor and chairman of the department of comprehensive care at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. His tenure at USC begins Aug. 1.
“With the great privilege of joining one of the world’s finest schools comes the huge responsibility of maintaining its high level of excellence,” said Dr. Sadan, who will also hold the G. Donald and Marian James Montgomery Dean’s Chair in Dentistry.
“In a highly competitive environment, the school will continue to reinvent itself using its biggest assets: its outstanding students, world-renowned faculty and the most committed and proud core of alumni any school has,” he said. “We will continue to attract the best candidates, graduate the finest clinicians, generate meaningful and exciting scientific discoveries, and be a resource for the betterment of our community through our strong community outreach.”
Dr. Sadan’s achievements at Case Western that were cited in a USC news release include merging the former departments of restorative dentistry and general dentistry, restructuring preclinical courses to align with contemporary restorative approaches, reorganizing clinical procedures, and streamlining preclinical and clinical operations. As chair of the department of comprehensive care, he has supervised departmental research activities, the school’s biomaterials laboratory and the clinical trials in the D.M.D. clinics research.
Dr. Sadan is the former editor-in-chief of Quintessence International and Quintessence of Dental Technology. He has published and lectured nationally and internationally on biomaterials, fixed prosthodontics, and esthetic and implant dentistry.
He earned his D.M.D. degree from Hebrew University’s Hadassah School of Dental Medicine in Jerusalem, where he also completed an internship in maxillofacial prosthodontics and oral medicine. He completed his training in prosthodontics at the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry and a fellowship in prosthodontics at LSU, which emphasized esthetic and implant dentistry.
Dr. Sigmund H. Abelson has served as acting dean since Dr. Harold C. Slavkin announced his intention to step down as USC dean in 2008. Dr. Slavkin, a former director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, is returning to USC as a faculty member in 2010.