My research interests currently involve investigating the role that agents called bisphosphonates, which are used in the treatment of certain cancers, play in osteonecrosis of the jaw. In addition to my clinical and teaching activities I am a forensic odontologist (a specialist who uses teeth and other nearby structures as a means of identification) and currently a member of M.E.S.O.R.T. (medical examiner special operations response team) for the Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York. I was actively involved in the identification process for the victims of the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster and the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 the same year. I have been honored by New York City, New York State, and the US House of Representatives for my forensic work. In 2005 I was inducted into the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. I have also been inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Dentists.
I am involved in organized dentistry on both on a state and national level and am currently Vice President of the New York State Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. I am also involved in the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) and present lectures at the Association’s annual scientific meetings on emergent anesthesia care and implant placement techniques.
I have lectured both nationally and internationally on implant reconstruction for patients with head and neck cancer, as well as on the forensic response to the World Trade Center disaster.
In 2010, I received the AAOMS Presidential Achievement Award in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. This award is given by the Board of Trustees to recognize a member or fellow for important long-standing contributions of benefit to the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery through clinical, academic, research, or public service activities. This is one of the highest awards given by the specialty of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
