Leading by Example

OMS Leadership Recognized
Congratulations to the Louisiana oral and maxillofacial surgery faculty members and leaders who received awards at two recent professional meetings held this spring: the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Pearls V, in New Orleans, and the 67th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (SSOMS), in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The annual OMS Pearls course, created by Dr. John Kent and presented by the Jack Kent Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation, offers continuing education to alumni of the two LSU OMS programs. This year John Neary, DDS, MD, FACS, and G.E. Ghali, DDS, MD, FACS, were honored for their contributions as chairmen of the LSUHSC departments. Dr. Neary, assistant professor and chairman of the OMS department in New Orleans, is an alumnus of the LSU OMS program and has chaired the department since 2014. Dr. Ghali is chairman of the OMS department in Shreveport as well as interim dean and interim chancellor of the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport. He holds the Jack Gamble Chair in OMS.

Also recognized at the Pearls course was Eric Geist, DDS, who received the Jack Kent OMS Foundation President Crystal. President of SSOMS and former president of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (AAOMS), and the Louisiana Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (LSOMS), he was also named LSUSD Alumnus of the Year in 2011.

Pearls V was co-sponsored by the LSU Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Alumni Association of the programs in New Orleans and Shreveport, the AAOMS, and the LSOMS.

Dean Henry Gremillion (left) and Dr. Jack Kent (right) with honorees Drs. Neary, Geist, and Ghali at Pearls V Course

At the Southeastern Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery annual meeting, John Kent, DDS, FACD, FICD, Boyd Professor and professor emeritus, and head of the OMS department in New Orleans from 1973-2008, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. He had previously received the AAOMS Presidential Achievement Award in 2014. Dr. G.E. Ghali received the Distinguished EducatorŐs Award for his outstanding career in resident and fellowship training at LSU Shreveport. David Frost, DDS, MS, former faculty member and also a past recipient of the AAOMS Presidential Achievement Award, was honored with the Frank DiPlacido Humanitarian Award.

(l-r) SSOMS honorees Drs. David Frost, John Kent, and G.E. Ghali with President Eric Geist

Himel Leads Endodontists Board
Van Himel, DDS, professor and chair of the LSUSD Department of Endodontics, recently assumed the position of president of the American Board of Endodontics (ABE). A director since 2012, he has previously served in various board positions and as a member of numerous board committees.

Dr. Himel received his DDS (1973) and certificate in endodontics (1982) from LSUSD. A full-time member of the LSUSD faculty from 1984-1989, he joined the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry faculty in 1989. He then returned to LSUSD in 2009 to head the Department of Endodontics. He holds the Raymond Luebke Professorship in Endodontics.

Van Himel, DDS, president of the American Board of Endodontics

A recipient of numerous research grants and the author of many articles and podcasts, Dr. Himel has also authored chapters in the major endodontic textbooks. He is a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Endodontics.

Founded in 1956, the ABE is the only certifying board for the specialty and is one of nine specialty boards recognized by the American Dental Association. This board is responsible for certifying and publicly recognizing those who have achieved diplomate status in endodontics through the demonstration of exceptional knowledge and technical skill and have met the standards established by the Board.