Program Faculty/Staff

Scholars Program in Dental Leadership
Program Committee and Mentors
  • Russell S. Taichman, DMD, DMSc
  • Thomas G. Green, Ph.D.

  • Tatiana Botero, MS, DDS
  • Daniel J. Chiego, Jr., MS, Ph.D.
  • Brian H. Clarkson, BChD, LDS, MS, Ph.D.
  • Clay C. Dietz, DDS
  • Robert M. Eber, DDS, MS
  • Mark Fitzgerald, DDS, MS
  • Renny T. Franceschi, Ph.D.
  • Geoffrey E. Gerstner, DDS, MS, Ph.D.
  • William V. Giannobile, DDS, MS, D.Med Sc.
  • Anne E. Gwozdek, RDH, BA
  • Paul H. Krebsbach, DDS, Ph.D.
  • Wendy E. Kerschbaum, MA, MPH
  • Christine P. Klausner, RHD, MS
  • Josef N. Kolling, DDS, MS
  • Marilyn S. Lantz, DMD, MSD, Ph.D .
  • Dennis E. Lopatin, MS, Ph.D.
  • Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch, DDS, Ph.D.
  • H. Mark Pinsky, DDS
  • Peter J. Polverini, DDS, DMSc
  • Stephen J. Stefanac, DDS, MS
  • George W. Taylor, DMD, DrPH
  • Yi-Pin Tsao, DDS, MS
  • Brent B. Ward, DDS, MD
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  • Program Co-director, Mentor

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Russell S. Taichman D.M.D., D.M.Sc.
Professor of Dentistry
Director of the Scholars Program in Dental Leadership

Russell S. Taichman, Professor in the Department of Periodontics & Oral Medicine, completed his undergraduate education at the Villanova University with a BS in Biology in 1982 and received his DMD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. In 1990, he received both his certificate in Periodontology and a D.M.Sc. degree in Oral Biology from Harvard University. From 1990-1992 he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Molecular Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine under the direction of Dr. John C Reed. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1992 as a an Assistant Professor. He has served on the Dental Schools APT Committee at and has Chaired the IADR Fellowship and AADR's Hatton Awards Committees, and serves on the AADR's William Giess Committee.

Dr. Taichman was recently named the Director of the University of Michigan Scholars Program in Dental Leadership (UM-SPDL), and has designed and implemented a Mentoring Program for the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine (POM) which serves as a model for the Dental School. Has was named the Instructor of the Year by the Dental Hygiene Class of 1997 and won the UROP Faculty Recognition Award for Outstanding Research Mentorship, 2003. His teaching responsibilities are in the Vertically Integrated Clinics (VICs), and at the Ann Arbor Veteran s Administration Hospital and directs courses in Periodontics for the Dental Hygiene Program, and one at the Undergraduate Level (The Science and Practice of Dentistry in the 21st Century). He serves as the current Departmental Director of Research, where most recently his focus has been in identifying osteoblast-specific factor(s) that supports hematopoiesis. In a second but related project, his research focuses on the mechanisms used by tumor cells to metastasize to the bone marrow. In collaborative projects with the laboratory of Dr. Paul Krebsbach, the Taichman laboratory is currently exploring the identity and function of mesenchymal stem cells.

Dr. Taichman is also an avid arctic aficionado. He owns more than 500 books on the arctic.  He has made annual summer trips to the Arctic Circle for the last 14 years, and led Sierra Club trips into the far north for the last six.    He enjoys traveling in areas where probably few people have ever been, where early peoples first lived, and large mammals are not necessarily afraid of you.  Moreover, he enjoys the land of subtleties -- the little tundra flowers and plants you'll often find in this harsh environment are incredibly resilient. Since 1991, he has backpacked or kayaked Auyuittuq and Ellesmere Island National Parks, Bathurst, Banks, Devon, Greenland and Axel Heiberg Islands. He has extensive knowledge of the Arctic, its flora, fauna, and history, and eagerly awaits each new discovery.

Thomas G. Green, Ph.D.
Member, UM-SPDL Planning Committee

Tom Green, Lecturer and Director of Curriculum and Instructional Services at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, completed his undergraduate studies in 1972 with a BS in Zoology. He then earned an MS in Biology in 1973 and a PhD in Education in 1979, all from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Green has worked at the School of Dentistry since 1973 serving in a variety of roles related to developing and assessing innovations in curriculum and instruction. Mentoring students is a high priority for Dr. Green, who has worked on numerous thesis committees and mentored many high school research students. He also teaches a graduate dental course in education and has served on the Curriculum Committee since 1991 and the Admissions Committee from 1989-2002.