CDM Congratulates Four Faculty Members on Promotions
The Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CDM) is pleased to congratulate faculty promoted between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020: Philip Kang, DDS, Alia Koch, DDS, MD, Mona Boside, DMD, and Angela Ward, EdD.
“We are grateful to those members of our faculty that are promoted in the academic ranks. It is a direct reflection of their commitment to scholarship and love for our institution,” said Christian Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, dean of CDM.
Promotion to Associate Professor
Philip Kang, DDS, Division of Periodontics, was promoted from assistant professor of dental medicine at CUMC to associate professor of dental medicine at CUMC.
Kang directs the CDM postgraduate periodontics program, eight current postdoctoral and predoctoral courses, and the continuing education course “Essential Surgeries to Grow Your Dental Practice.” He has lent his expertise to the Commission on Dental Accreditation as a site visitor for periodontics for 2020, served on the Northeastern Society of Periodontists Board of Directors since 2019, and prepared questions for American Academy of Periodontology and American Dental Association examinations. Over the past two years, Kang has coauthored nine publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Kang received his DDS from the University of Michigan, followed by a certificate in advanced education in general dentistry (AEGD) from Harvard University and a certificate in periodontics from the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a CDM faculty member since 2007, joining originally as a volunteer in 2007 and in 2014 moving into a full-time appointment.
Alia Koch, DDS, MD, Division of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, was promoted from assistant professor of dental medicine at CUMC to associate professor of dental medicine at CUMC.
An attending surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital as well as a CDM faculty member, Koch leads the oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program at CDM/NYP. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and is active on several committees of the ADA and other national organizations. Koch also is an alumna of the NYP LEAD Academy, a program that provides multifaceted leadership training to physicians. In 2019 she was inducted into the CDM chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the national dental honor society.
Koch earned her DDS from CDM and her MD from the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery at NYP Hospital, where she was chief resident in her program. She has held appointments at CDM and NYP since 2011.
Promotion to Assistant Professor
Mona Boside, DMD, Division of Endodontics, was promoted from instructor in dental medicine to assistant professor of dental medicine at CUMC.
Boside directs the predoctoral endodontics program and instructs both predoctoral and postgraduate learners at CDM. She engages students through multiple teaching roles in the classroom, preclinical laboratory, and clinic, and she also trains and advises DDS students in the CDM Endodontics Club. She is a member of the dental school’s academic progress committee for second-, third-, and fourth-year students and of professional organizations in both the United States and Lebanon, where she initially trained and practiced dentistry. She continues to provide endodontics care at Columbia’s faculty practice.
Boside received her dental degree and a diploma in endodontics in Beirut, Lebanon, after which she held a faculty appointment at the Lebanese University College of Dental Medicine and was an endodontist in private practice. She completed additional postgraduate training in endodontics and AEGD at CDM, and she became a CDM faculty member in 2017.
Angela Ward, EdD, Division of Periodontics, was promoted from associate research scientist to assistant professor of hygiene sciences (in dental medicine) at CUMC.
A practicing dental hygienist with a doctoral degree in education, Ward has developed numerous patient education materials around a variety of topics at the intersection of oral health and public health, with particular focus on tobacco cessation efforts. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist; a recipient of a National Certificate in Tobacco Treatment Practice; and a Credentialed Trainer for EPIC, the shared medical-dental electronic health record.
Ward has been involved in research projects at CDM for nearly two decades, first as a project coordinator and manager and then, beginning in 2016, as an associate research scientist. During that time she earned an MA in health education and an EdD from Teachers College at Columbia University. Prior to that she received an AAS/dental hygiene degree from Hostos Community College and a BA from the University of Kent at Canterbury in England.
