Sandra is a tenured Associate Professor in the Dental Hygiene Program, Division of Health Professions at the University of New Haven in Connecticut.  She has been a full-time faculty member in the program since 1996, spanning the freshman, junior and senior-level curriculum, including the clinical, community-based and academic areas.  Her areas of expertise reflect the following courses taught in the Program: Introduction to Dental Hygiene I and II, Dental Hygiene Clinical Concepts III-V, Dental Hygiene Research, Oral Medicine, Senior Internships, Senior Projects, Oral Pathology and the Community-Based Program.  In addition to her academic teaching schedule, Sandra continues to serve on various state and local advisory committees; continues to lecture at state-wide and national conferences; and maintains consultant positions in the state of Connecticut.  Currently, Sandra is a research scholar at the University of Connecticut Health Center, School of Dental Medicine and School of Medicine, where she conducts research on hemodialysis patients.  Sandra has been an active member of the New Haven Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Delta Lambda Chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society.

Email: spalumbo@newhaven.edu

Renee is a tenured, Associate Professor who began teaching in the discipline of dental hygiene in 1990.  Throughout this time, she has spanned clinical and didactic curriculum in all levels of dental hygiene education including Oral Radiology, Oral Anatomy, Embryology, Histology, Dental Hygiene Research, Dental Hygiene Senior Project, Dental Hygiene Internship/Service Learning, Dental Hygiene Concepts I, II, III, IV and Advanced Dental Hygiene Concepts.  She has served in the positions of Sophomore Clinical Coordinator, Junior Clinical Coordinator and Radiology Coordinator.  Ms. Prajer is an enthusiastic educator who enjoys the utilization of technology in the classroom and initiating contemporary ideas into the dental hygiene curriculum.  She has led experiential education internships in Honduras, with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, the Cherokee Tribe in North Carolina and the Navajo Tribe in Arizona.

Professor Prajer is a published author in the Journal of Dental Hygiene, Dimensions of Dental Hygiene and the Journal of Practical Hygiene and the dental hygiene chairside pocket guide DH Notes.  Ms. Prajer has presented at the local, state and national levels.  She has been honored with the University's Excellence in Experiential Education Award and the Experiential Education Service-Learning Award.

Professional affiliations include the American Dental Hygienists' Association, the Connecticut Dental Hygienists' Association, the New Haven Dental Hygienists' Association and the National Society of Experiential Education.  She has been active in numerous positions in the Association and currently serves as the Chair of the Awards Committee.  Professor Prajer also serves a Curriculum Consultant for the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation.

Email: rprajer@newhaven.edu

Gwen has been in academia for 15 years.  She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Dental Hygiene at the University of New Haven.  She has taught in a variety of clinical and public health settings.  She has taught at both the associate and baccalaureate levels.  She currently is the Junior Clinic Coordinator and teaches Local Anesthesia, Pharmacology and Pain Management and Advanced Dental Hygiene Concepts.

She has developed a course in accordance with the Dental Hygiene Practice Act, to educate registered dental hygienists and University of New Haven dental hygiene students in the certification of Local Anesthesia.  Gwen has presented this course to faculty at Old Dominion University and the University of Maryland.

Gwen is a published author in Dimensions of Dental Hygiene and the Journal of Practical Hygiene and DH Notes:  Dental Hygienist’s Chairside Pocket Guide.  Gwen has presented at local and state levels.  She Gwen maintains affiliation with the American Dental Hygiene Association and has served as Treasurer and Membership chair for the Danbury Dental Hygienists’ Association for several years.

Email: ggrosso@newhaven.edu

Melissa Janeiro graduated from the University of New Haven in 2009 with a BS degree in Dental Hygiene, and is a member of the Sigma Phi Alpha Delta Lambda Chapter of the National Dental Hygiene Honor Society.  She is currently employed as a clinical dental hygienist in Connecticut.

Email: N/A