Nadeem Karimbux, DDS, will be the seventeenth dean of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, assuming the role on July 1, 2019. Karimbux has been the associate dean for academic affairs and a professor of periodontology at the school since 2012.
“Tufts University is committed to preparing students to meet challenges now and in the future, especially in the rapidly changing field of healthcare,” said Tufts University president Anthony P. Monaco, MD, PhD.
“In Nadeem Karimbux, we have identified a leader and mentor who shares that commitment, who has deep experience in dental education, clinical care, and research, and who is driven to provide our dental students with all they need to provide the best care,” said Monaco.
The school’s 17 dental clinics, including the Tufts Dental Facilities for persons with disabilities, provide oral healthcare to more than 39,000 patients annually. The school’s interprofessional approach integrates education and treatment across multiple healthcare professions.
“Dr. Karimbux has been a dedicated and engaged member of the School of Dental Medicine community and is highly respected for his innovation and leadership,” said Deborah T. Kochevar, DVM, PhD, provost and senior vice president ad interim.
As associate dean, Karimbux has focused on integration, collaboration, and interprofessional education. He also has been instrumental in moving the school from a discipline-based approach to an integrated curriculum emphasizing critical thinking and collaboration.
Karimbux’s changes included a biweekly seminar that brings together students from all years to work in teams to study and device treatment plans for real-life cases and expansion of computer-based assessments and interactive technology in the classroom.
Also, Karimbux identified ways to ensure patients are better integrated into conversations about their care. A course over the first three years introduces and builds on how dentists can best communicate with patients in easy to understand and culturally appropriate ways.
“Oral healthcare is not only about how dentists practice, but it is also about how patients receive care in a person-centered context,” said Karimbux, who will oversee more than 900 students and residents, 450 faculty, 300 staff, and 8,600 alumni.
“As a community, we recently celebrated the school’s 150th anniversary,” he added. “I’m looking forward to taking on this role at a time when we are looking toward the next 150 years of student education, patient care, research, lifelong learning, and collaboration with our communities.”
As assistant dean for dental education at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Karimbux led extensive curriculum changes while serving as director of predoctoral periodontology and program director of the Advanced Graduate Education Program in Periodontology.
Karimbux is currently the editor of the Journal of Dental Education and an associate editor for the Oral Health Integration, Workforce, and Practice section of the upcoming 2020 Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health. He also has published more than 120 papers.
An active researcher, Karimbux is interested in the relationship between oral health and systemic disease, periodontal wound healing, and the integration of technology into clinical training and problem-based learning in dental education.
Karimbux’s awards include the G.W. Teuscher Award from the American Society of Dentistry for Children, the Periodontal Educator Award from the American Academy of Periodontology, and the Presidential Citation from the American Dental Education Association.
With an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Karimbux holds a DDS, a master’s of medical science in oral biology, and a graduate certificate in periodontology from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
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