2010 - UCSF School of Dentistry - University of California, San ...

promotion > > > RICHARD joRDAn
new Associate Dean for Research
Richard Jordan, DDS, PhD,
FRCPath, a leader in diagnostic
pathology and a UCSF School
of Dentistry faculty member since
2000, is the school’s new associate
dean for research, an appointment
effective since May 1, 2009.
Jordan succeeded John Greenspan,
BDS, PhD, FRCPath, who stepped
down after years of outstanding
service in the same role. Jordan has
retained his current faculty appointments
as professor of oral pathology
and of pathology, chair of the Division
of Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology
and Oral Radiology, and vice chair of
the Department of Orofacial Sciences.
He also directs the largest universitybased
oral pathology diagnostic
laboratory on the West Coast.
Jordan has taken on the challenge
of maintaining and improving
research excellence within the school,
which has ranked number one among
dental schools in research for nearly
two decades. Jordan, a research
scientist who is also trained in two
clinical specialties, has gained a
strong reputation for excellence in his
research focused on molecular techniques
for early oral cancer detection.
Born and raised in Canada,
Jordan received his clinical training in
dentistry, oral pathology and oral
medicine at the University of Toronto.
He completed work on his doctoral
degree at the University of London, in
the laboratories of Paul Speight, BDS,
PhD, and Peter Isaacson, MB, ChB.
“I was able to work on a newly
identified form of lymphoma, developing
a test to detect malignant white
blood cells prior to symptoms, at the
earliest stage of the disease,” he says.
“It was a very exciting time.” Jordan
continued in the same line of research
upon returning to North America,
shifting his emphasis to oral cancers.
Jordan helped develop a useful
technique for gauging which genes
had been switched on, or expressed,
in the vast majority of oral biopsy or
surgical specimens preserved in
formalin. Recently, he was honored
with membership in the Royal
College of Pathologists of the United
Kingdom, in recognition of his
distinguished scientific achievements.
Maintaining research excellence
is his highest priority, Jordan says.
He views stem cell science, early
disease detection, materials science
and research on health disparities
as being among the areas in
which opportunities are greatest
for continued advances and
programmatic development.
Jordan knows the bar is set high
in his new post. “We need to think
of ways to make ourselves more
competitive in a very competitive
environment, and of ways to become
more nimble and responsive,” he
says. “Our greatest strength is our
people. The pipeline for our future
success is to train the best people
we can – both dentists and dental
scientists.”
Jordan has worked to update
training opportunities in recent years,
partnering with Greenspan and
colleagues from UCSF’s Clinical and
Translational Science Institute to
develop the Training in Clinical
Research curriculum.
“Within the setting of team science,
we want to be better in communicating
with one another, and we want to be
better in coordinating our activities,”
Jordan says. “Within the University,
the School of Dentistry is part of a
comprehensive scientific and health
care enterprise that also encompasses
the schools of medicine, pharmacy
and nursing, as well as the UCSF
Medical Center. At UCSF and
beyond, I think there is still room for
us to become better integrated into
the broader world of science and
health care.”
Interdisciplinary communication
and collaboration contribute to
improved dissemination of new
scientific knowledge and the
translation of new discoveries into
public benefit, Jordan says. n
“I see the aim of science
as accomplishments that
help people.”
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