Focus on
Diagnostic Sciences
Dr.
Cordell Named
Department Chair
This spring, after
a national search,
Kitrina Cordell, DDS, MS,
was named chair of the
Department of Diagnostic
Sciences; she had been
interim chair since
Diagnostic Sciences became
a separate department in
2014. Dr. Cordell received
her DDS and MS in oral and
maxillofacial pathology
from The Ohio State
University. For eight
years, until joining LSUSD
in 2010, she was on the
faculty of the University
of Michigan School of
Dentistry where she
directed the Oral
Pathology Biopsy Service.
She is a diplomate of the
American Board of Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology.
Dr. Cordell
sees patients in the LSUSD
Faculty Dental Practice
who have been referred for
oral pathology concerns.
She also teaches dental,
dental hygiene, and
advanced education
students in multiple
courses, and with Dr.
Molly Rosebush, she
operates the Oral
Pathology Biopsy Service.
|
Drs. Giulio
Fortuna, Kitrina
Cordell and
Christopher
Spencer |
Drs.
Spencer and Fortuna
Join Department in
2016
Christopher
Spencer, DDS,
who joined LSUSD in
January, is the newest
faculty member in the
specialty of orofacial
pain and temporomandibular
joint disorders (TMD). He
received his DDS from the
University of the Pacific
Arthur A. Dugoni School of
Dentistry in 1978. In
2003, after 30 years in
private practice, he
entered a two-year
fellowship at the
University of Florida
College of Dentistry
Parker E. Mahan Facial
Pain Center and then
served as the Center's
clinic director from
2006-2008. At the
University of Florida, he
taught in the departments
of orthodontics,
prosthodontics, and
restorative dentistry.
Dr. Spencer
treats patients with
orofacial pain and TMD in
LSUSD Faculty Dental
Practice. He teaches in
several didactic and
clinical courses,
including Advanced Head
and Neck Anatomy for
third-year dental
students. In addition, Dr.
Spencer is a faculty
member in the Orofacial
Pain Continuum, a
five-session interactive
course offered through LSU
Health Continuing Dental
Education.
Giulio Fortuna,
DMD, PhD, the
newest faculty member in
the department, adds his
extensive knowledge of
oral medicine to the
strengths of existing
faculty. He is the only
dentist in Louisiana with
expertise in the
discipline. A native of
Naples, Italy, Dr. Fortuna
received his dental degree
from the Second University
of Naples in 2005 and his
PhD in oral science from
the Federico II University
of Naples in 2011. After a
year at Stanford
University in California
as a visiting PhD student
in the Department of
Dermatology concentrating
on epidermolysis bullosa,
Dr. Fortuna attended the
Carolinas Medical Center
in Charlotte, North
Carolina, where he
completed a general
practice residency in 2013
followed by a residency in
oral medicine in 2015. He
is editor-in-chief of the
American Journal of
Oral Medicine.
Dr. Fortuna sees patients
in Faculty Dental Practice
for diagnosis and
management of
non-tooth-related
conditions affecting the
oral and maxillofacial
region including, but not
limited to, autoimmune
diseases, potentially
malignant oral disorders,
oral manifestations of
systemic diseases, and
salivary gland disorders.
He also provides
oro-dental evaluation of
head and neck cancer
patients receiving
radiation and
chemotherapy. Dr. Fortuna
will be involved in
didactic and clinical oral
medicine education for
both undergraduate and
advanced education
students.
AGD
Grant Awarded to Dr.
Cordell
LSUSD is dedicated to
increasing public
awareness about oral
cancer to improve early
detection and to decrease
morbidity and mortality
associated with this
disease. To further this
goal, Dr. Cordell recently
secured a grant of $5,000
from the Academy of
General Dentistry (AGD)
Foundation to develop a
formal schoolwide self
oral cancer screening
(SOCS) educational program
for patients. The grant
includes a one-on-one
educational session with a
faculty member, resident,
or student as well as
printed information and
access to online
educational tools to
strengthen SOCS patient
compliance. Once the
program is developed and
tested, it will be made
available to other dental
professionals.
|