Established Researchers to Head Two UB Dental School Departments

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Two new chairs, both active researchers, have been appointed to head departments in the School of Dental Medicine at the University at Buffalo, effective this fall semester.

Carlos Munoz-Viveros, D.D.S., M.S.D., of Williamsville, former professor of dentistry at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry and a specialist in biomaterials, has been named chair of the Department of Restorative Dentistry.

Frank Scannapieco D.M.D., Ph.D., of Clarence, professor of oral biology, who has served as associate chair of the Department of Oral Biology since 2003, has been appointed to the chair position.

Munoz-Viveros received a D.D.S. degree from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena School of Dental Medicine in his native Dominican Republic in 1978, and a second D.D.S. from Indiana University School of Dentistry in Indianapolis in 1981. He earned an M.S.D. in 1982 from Indiana University.

At Loma Linda, he served as director of the dental school's Biomaterials Research Center, where he did work in the areas of dentin bonding, advanced ceramic restorations, gingival esthetics and advanced dental materials. Results of his research have been published extensively in professional journals.

Scannapieco received his D.M.D. degree from the University of Connecticut in 1985 and his doctorate in oral biology from UB in 1991. He has been on the dental school faculty since 1987.

In addition to his teaching and mentoring activities, Scannapieco has conducted NIH-funded research for several years, studying the mechanisms of oral bacterial colonization and their implications for health and disease. He has published widely in professional journals.