The assistant professor leads the School of Dentistry’s Mission of Mercy, which provides oral health care to uninsured and underinsured Marylanders and gives students hands-on clinical experience.
Every fall, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) commemorates our rich history and celebrates the future we’re building together during Founders Week, which this year runs Oct. 19-22. Among the highlights is recognizing the extraordinary work of UMB’s faculty, staff, and students with five awards, each signifying outstanding accomplishment in one facet of our mission. Leading up to Founders Week, we will highlight the award winners each week on The Elm. For more information on UMB’s annual celebration and associated events, please check out the Founders Week website. (Photo by Matthew D’Agostino)
In 2010, Ramsay Koury, DMD, was a dentist who had never thought about becoming a professor, but a trip to Honduras and a nudge from a University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) student changed the course of his career.
Koury had been inspired to go to dental school while attending Juniata College in central Pennsylvania and accompanying his cousin, Robert Zimmerman, on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Koury assisted Zimmerman, a dentist, and a team of practitioners for two weeks in providing oral health care services such as tooth extractions.
“After graduating dental school at the University of Pittsburgh, I did many mission trips, mainly to Honduras, enjoying the ability to help others in need,” said Koury, who met five UMSOD students on one of the trips and enjoyed the experience working with them.
“One of the students encouraged me to come and teach at the school,” Koury said. “I had never considered teaching, never wanted to return to a dental school, and did not want to live in a big city again. However, I came in for an interview, worked in a clinic with students, and knew I had found my true calling.”
Koury served as an instructor of operative dentistry for two years as a volunteer member of the UMSOD Dean’s Faculty, then joined UMSOD full time in 2013 after 24 years in private dentistry in the Harrisburg, Pa., area. Over the past decade-plus, he has made his mark not only as a teacher, but also as a mentor and leader of the Mission of Mercy program since 2016.
At the Mission of Mercy events, UMSOD practitioners and students under faculty supervision provide free oral health care services to underserved and uninsured Maryland residents, including extractions, restorative treatment, and diagnostic radiographs.
Koury, who is a clinical assistant professor and director of the Division of General Practice in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry at UMSOD, organizes the events and coordinates student, faculty, resident, and staff involvement at sites across Baltimore, the Eastern Shore, College Park, Southern Maryland, Western Maryland, and Montgomery County.
Leading by Example, Inspiring Students
For his work with Mission of Mercy and dedication to expanding access to oral health care for underserved populations, Koury was named the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) 2026 Founders Week Public Servant of the Year.
“Dr. Koury’s sustained commitment to improving the lives of Maryland residents exemplifies the highest ideals of public service and advances UMB’s mission to improve the human condition through education, clinical care, and service,” said Mark A. Reynolds, DDS, PhD, the former UMSOD dean who is UMB’s interim provost and executive vice president.
“His dedication reflects a deeply held belief that access to oral health care is fundamental to overall health and every individual deserves quality care regardless of their circumstances.”
Charles A. Doring, DDS, a UMSOD alumnus, said he appreciates that Koury’s leadership engages and inspires students to engage in community service.
“During Mission of Mercy events, I’ve observed the respect students have for Dr. Koury and the enthusiasm with which they seek his guidance,” said Doring, who is president of the Maryland State Dental Association. “He leads by example, demonstrating that clinical excellence and community service go hand in hand.”
Working with organizations such as United Way, Catholic Charities, the Universities at Shady Grove, and community partners, Koury has helped to expand access to oral health care for Maryland residents facing significant barriers to treatment. Nearly 4,000 patients have received essential dental services, undergoing care that alleviates pain, restores function, and improves quality of life.
“When I got to UMSOD, I helped recruit and organize students for yearly mission trips to Honduras, doing seven trips in all, and assisted many one-day volunteer projects with student groups,” Koury said. “In 2016, the school was looking for someone to lead the Mission of Mercy program. I realized that the project was basically the same as one day on a mission trip. It combined my love of volunteering with my love of teaching and working with students.”
Commitment to Mentorship
Through Mission of Mercy, UMSOD students gain valuable clinical experience and develop a deeper understanding of the difficulties many people face in accessing oral health care, Koury said. The program exposes students to the realities of financial hardship, language barriers, and other social determinants of health, he said.
UMSOD alumnus Teebok Choe, DDS, MS, who worked on the school’s first Mission of Mercy event in 2016, said Koury had an enormous impact on his dental student experience and career.
“Dr. Koury believed the best in every student and gave his all to each of us, and I was lucky to be one of them,” said Choe, a periodontist who practices in Raleigh, N.C. “I still carry his most important lesson: treat every patient as a person, not as a procedure or a disease. He taught me to look at the whole person, and that shapes how I care for my patients and how I lead my team.
“Dr. Koury was patient and generous with his time and humble in a way that made you forget how much he knew,” Choe added. “When I made mistakes, he corrected them with encouragement and the right questions so that I understood the problem rather than just feeling bad about it. … There are dentists all over the country who are better clinicians and better people because of him, and I am grateful to be one of them.”
Koury said mentoring students is extremely important to him, “perhaps even more important than the educational part of my job.”
“I want students to really think about their place in our society, how they can really help patients, improve their lives, and improve their sense of self-worth. Volunteer events are the perfect way to do that,” he said. “My goal is to inspire as many students as possible each year to consider giving back during their careers. It is great to help one patient at one event, but if we can inspire students to volunteer throughout their careers, we will reach multitudes of patients.”
Koury said he has no problem recruiting students to assist with Mission of Mercy events, adding that he was overwhelmed with volunteers when he sent out an email seeking help for the program’s next event in mid-October.
“I think students enjoy volunteering at Mission of Mercy because they can see instant results with their patients,” he said. “They take someone out of pain or restore an aesthetic or functional problem quickly. Patients are always very thankful and show their gratitude to the students.”
Koury has been impactful in the classroom, too, recognized in 2016 and 2023 with UMSOD’s Frank J. Sinnreich Award for Excellence in Teaching.
“Receiving the Sinnreich honor was very meaningful for me,” he said. “It is awarded by the students to a faculty member who they feel has cared about them and made their dental school experience a better one. As someone whose dental school experience was stressful and challenging, I am always happy to know that I’ve made the experience better for students.”