brought to
you by
|
|
brought to
you by
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||
Dushanka V. Kleinman, DDS, MScD
In
July 2001, RADM Dushanka V. Kleinman was selected as the Chief Dental Officer of
the Public Health Service (PHS). In this role, she provides leadership for
and coordination of PHS dental programs and professional affairs for the Office
of the Surgeon General (OSG) and for the Department of Health and Human
Services.
RADM Kleinman is the Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a position she has held since 1991. As the Deputy Director, NIDCR, she oversees, with the Director, the Institute's wide scope of extramural and intramural biomedical and behavioral research and related policy, programmatic and advisory committee activities. In addition, RADM Kleinman represents the NIDCR programs at all levels of government, and ensures effective liaison with national and international research and public health communities. She has assumed the role of Acting Director of the Institute twice, between Directors (1994-1995; 2000).
RADM Kleinman received her commission in 1978 and was assigned to the Division of Dentistry, Health Resources Administration, and worked on preventive dentistry, epidemiology, and geriatric dental education curriculum development grants. In 1980 she transferred to NIH where she lead research program evaluations and research planning activities in the Office of the Director, National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR). In 1988 she joined the Institute's intramural Division of Epidemiology and Oral Disease Prevention to direct the oral mucosa, pain, and injuries section, and managed the Division for a year.
In 1980 Surgeon General Antonio Novello requested RADM Kleinman to join the OSG for a year as the Special Assistant for Program Activities. While with the OSG, RADM Kleinman addressed national issues related to tobacco control, injury prevention, women's health, and established the Healthy Children Ready to Learn Initiative that spanned three departments.
RADM Kleinman had a variety of experiences before joining the PHS Commissioned Corps. She graduated from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry and then completed a hospital-based residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics. She went on to teach and practice dentistry at the Boston University, Henry Goldman School of Dental Medicine, while obtaining her Masters of Science in Dental Public Health. This training, and her project on preventive behavior of mothers and children, was supported by a NIDR National Research Service Award. RADM Kleinman also directed a community-based prevention program designed to train dental and dental hygiene students at the University of Maryland Dental School.
RADM Kleinman has served as a member of the Dental Professional Advisory Committee, served on numerous PHS committees, and currently is on the Research Officer Advisory Group. She also is a liaison to the American Dental Association and other professional organizations. Perhaps RADM Kleinman's major contribution to the PHS and to the Nation has been her role in overseeing and managing the development of the first Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health, together with RADM Caswell Evans, which was released in May 2000. She also was instrumental in the Surgeon General's Conference on Children and Oral Health, and is working on the Federal component of the National Oral Health Plan called for in the report subsequent to its release.
Through her work at NIDCR, RADM Kleinman has contributed to the advancement and management of oral health sciences and the demonstrated leadership in extending research findings into practice. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including the PHS Distinguished Service and Meritorious Service Medals, the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal, two PHS Outstanding Service Medals, as well as PHS Commendation and Citation Awards. She is also the recipient of the Jack D. Robertson Award, and Distinguished Alumni Awards, among others. She is a Diplomat and Past-President of the American Board of Dental Public Health, and has been President of the American Association of Women Dentists and the American Association of Public Health Dentistry.
 |
| Previous Menu |