Dr. Anthony Iacopino has been named the recipient of the Pierre Fauchard Academy’s Dentist Citation Award for 2020.
Dr. Iacopino’s contributions have been truly unique, highly innovative and have had significant impact and disruptive influence. Most of these represent “ground breaking” or “first of their kind” accomplishments.
The training and credentials Dr. Iacopino acquired provided the necessary knowledge and skill sets for a career dedicated to leading and implementing significant institutional transformations. He has been a “new breed” of dental academician and educator that effectively contributed to a broad range of innovations, reforms and mandates.
Throughout his career at different institutions, within disparate cultures and tasked with very diverse initiatives, he has demonstrated accomplishments and leadership in both faculty and administrative roles that has resulted in significant cultural, curricular and structural change across multiple institutions of varying size, mission and location throughout North America. Some of his accomplishments have changed the landscape of the dental profession and the future of primary healthcare approaches.
During his time in New Jersey at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Iacopino was the first National Institutes of Health Dental Scientist trainee, setting the stage for numerous DMD/PhD trainees that have followed. This marked the beginning of a cultural change that would encourage and support those seeking academic and alternate career pathways in dentistry, an area for which this school is now recognized. His activities in geriatric and community dentistry, highlighted by serving as director for the world’s first dental clinic specific for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease patients, were the beginnings of a curriculum and community outreach portfolio that have become widely recognized for their scope and service.
In Texas, at the Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry, Dr. Iacopino’s initiatives to “modernize” research facilities and approaches have resulted in an environment that has transformed Baylor into a highly regarded and highly competitive dental research institution. Additionally, several dental schools have replicated Dr. Iacopino’s innovative model for student research that increases student engagement, external support and interest in academic and research careers.
In Wisconsin, at the Marquette University School of Dentistry, Dr. Iacopino popularized concepts regarding the role of “research non-intensive” dental schools in the national agenda and the importance of creating a culture of “sophisticated consumers of research” leading to the creation of the National Institutes of Health NIDCR R25 grant program. This program was ultimately responsible for significant culture change at Marquette and several other dental schools creating a “national movement” toward making research and scholarship part of the daily fabric of dental education.
Long before interprofessional education was formally defined and recognized, Dr. Iacopino was actively leading and participating in interprofessional education and training as Director of the Wisconsin Geriatric Education Centre. The interprofessional web-based resources he developed have served as an international resource for geriatric education and training programs worldwide.
In Winnipeg, at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Iacopino’s tenure as dean has marked the greatest period of innovation and transformation in the school’s history. The development of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences (the largest interprofessional faculty in Canada), global improvement in all aspects of the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry and the world’s first International Centre for Oral-Systemic Health represent a singular legacy. He is one of the first internationally recognized leaders in oral-systemic health and interprofessional education and practice.
His collaborations with government and healthcare networks in oral-systemic health and interprofessional care have resulted in system and policy changes supporting new comprehensive healthcare and community practice models that better serve the needs of Americans and Canadians.
In summary, Dr. Iacopino has dedicated his entire career to changing cultures and leading change and innovation in four very different dental schools within the United States and Canada, one student and one institution at a time.
The Pierre Fauchard Academy was to be present the Dentist Citation Award to Dr. Iacopino in Winnipeg in April. However, the event has been postponed and Dr. Iacopino will be honoured at a ceremony in the future.