There is nothing comparable in the field that takes such a global perspective on infection control.
Louis DePaola, DDS ’75, MS ’84, associate dean of clinical affairs at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) and a professor in its Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Services, was tapped in late 2017 with a personal invitation for an innovative project that was being proposed by Springer Publishing — a textbook titled “Infection Control in the Dental Office — A Global Perspective.”
He saw the enormous potential — and value — the resource-rich textbook could have for the field, even before the COVID-19 pandemic would affect the world a few years later.
“But I personally didn’t have the time to write each chapter,” notes DePaola, who in addition to his role as a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine and the American College of Dentists serves as the director for dental training for the Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education and Training Center and as a dental and infection control consultant for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Maryland Division of Correction.
DePaola returned to Springer with a counterproposal: He’d oversee the publication with content written instead by 18 fellow UMSOD faculty members and with co-editing duties shared with Leslie Grant, DDS ’86, MSPA, a former student, professional colleague, and current member of the UMSOD Board of Visitors.
The result is the ultimate team effort: a 15-chapter book in which each contributor co-wrote two chapters and was featured both as a primary author and secondary author. The 216-page textbook, DePaola says, is comprehensive and cutting edge in that there is nothing comparable in the field that takes such a global perspective on infection control.
You can read more about the UMSOD team's efforts in the Spring 2021 issue of UMB’s CATALYST magazine.
The issue also highlights how students have received invaluable hands-on experience preparing COVID-19 vaccines and vaccinating patients at the SMC Campus Center as well as the important COVID-19 research being done across all of our schools. We also share the stories of our graduates, the first recipient of The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings ’76 Scholarship Endowment, the National Center for School Mental Health, and much more.