The Frederick G. Smith, MS, DDS, and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS Endowed Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Investiture

Investiture Ceremony
Awarding
Tao Lowe, PhD
The Frederick G. Smith, MS, DDS, and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS,
Endowed Professorship
February 2, 2022

In
Tao Lowe, PhD
Tao Lowe, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Oral
and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Maryland
School of Dentistry (UMSOD) and the Fischell
Department of Bioengineering in the A. James Clark
School of Engineering at the University of Maryland,
College Park. She is the inaugural recipient of the
Frederick G. Smith, MS, DDS, and Venice K. Paterakis,
DDS, Endowed Professorship — the first endowed
professorship established at the School of Dentistry.
In this role, Dr. Lowe leads translational research
within UMSOD’s Department of Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgery in addition to providing leadership in
education, outreach, and service.
Dr. Lowe previously was an associate professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and
Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center; associate
professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University; and assistant
professor of Surgery, Bioengineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, and
co-director of the Integrated Graduate Degree Molecular Toxicology Program at
Pennsylvania State University. She received her PhD eximia cum laude from the
University of Helsinki, Finland, and conducted two years of postdoctoral research
in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Lowe’s research interests include the design and development of novel,
multifunctional biomaterials for targeted and sustained drug, gene, and stem cell
delivery for tissue engineering and disease therapy. Her work has focused on
nanotechnology for overcoming the biological barriers, sustained drug delivery
approaches to treat diabetes; cancers; diseases in the eye, brain, ear, and face;
COVID-19; and regeneration of bone, cartilage, and nerve. She has made unique and
significant contributions in advancing biomaterials for innovative translational
research and education at the interface of materials, chemistry, physics, engineering,
medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, clinical care, and business.
The author of more than 250 scholarly articles and presentations, she holds eight
and two pending U.S. and international patents. She has garnered more than $14
million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health and other public
and private agencies and foundations. Dr. Lowe has presented more than 90 invited
talks around the world and is a frequent grant reviewer for government funding
agencies in the U.S. and other countries. She also has served in leadership roles
in professional societies including the American Association of Pharmaceutical
Scientists (AAPS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Society for
Biomaterials, Controlled Release Society, and Association for Research in Vision
and Ophthalmology. In her lab, she has trained more than 130 individuals who have
become successful scientists, engineers, dentist-scientists, physician-scientists,
pharmacists, and educators. Dr. Lowe has achieved numerous honors including
as a recipient of an Early Career Award in Translational Research from the Coulter
Foundation, member of the University of Maryland ADVANCE Leadership Fellows
Program, and fellow of the AAPS.

Welcome
Janet Wiley
Assistant Dean of Development
Office of Development and Alumni Relations
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Remarks
Mark A. Reynolds, DDS ’86, PhD
Dean and Professor
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Speakers
Curt I. Civin, MD
Philip A. Zaffere Distinguished Professor in Regenerative Medicine
Associate Dean for Research
Director, Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
John P. Fisher, PhD
Fischell Family Distinguished Professor and Chair
Fischell Department of Bioengineering
A. James Clark School of Engineering
University of Maryland, College Park
Robert A. Ord, DDS, MD, FRCS, FACS, MS
Chair and Professor
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Medallion Presentation
Mark A. Reynolds, DDS ’86, PhD
Remarks
Tao Lowe, PhD
Frederick G. Smith, MS, DDS, and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS, Endowed Professor
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Fischell Department of Bioengineering
A. James Clark School of Engineering
University of Maryland, College Park
Closing
Janet Wiley

Frederick G. Smith, MS, DDS ’78, and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS ’81
In
Renowned philanthropists Frederick G. Smith, MS,
DDS ’78, and Venice K. Paterakis, DDS ’81 have been
committed for decades to working to improve the
human condition and serve the public good.
In 2015, the couple donated $1.5 million to establish the
first endowed professorship at the University of Maryland
School of Dentistry (UMSOD), where they met as dental
students in the late 1970s. In doing so, their aim was to
support UMSOD’s efforts to recruit a prominent faculty
member who would pursue new areas of research and
innovative teaching methods.
“I’m proud to be able to play a role in enhancing the quality of the education that
will be provided to future students,” Dr. Smith said. “The goal is to attract someone
who can be creative enough to establish a revenue stream for the School of Dentistry,
primarily through research and discovery, and that those advancements would also
help improve the oral and overall health of the general public.”
The endowed professorship is by no means the only educational venture that Drs.
Smith and Paterakis have supported. Recognizing that leadership qualities are necessary
for future success, Dr. Smith in 1996 founded Gerstell Academy, a private school for
children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade located near Westminster, Md. He is
chairman of the Board of Trustees and president emeritus of the nonprofit institution,
which teaches a curriculum focused on leadership, college preparatory academics,
physical training, and modern language fluency. Dr. Paterakis, too, devotes time to the
academy, serving as vice president and secretary of the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Smith also serves on the board of trustees of the University of Maryland Baltimore
Foundation, Inc., among other groups, and Dr. Paterakis has been active with the
Maryland Ronald McDonald House and supports many other charitable organizations
such as Yumi Cares and Horizon Day Camps.
Both Drs. Smith and Paterakis, who in 2018 received honorary Doctor of Public Service
degrees from the University of Baltimore, Maryland, are members of prominent
Baltimore families and can point to accomplishments in many other endeavors —
including business and dentistry.
Dr. Smith is vice president and director of Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group,
a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news that owns
operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets; owns multiple
national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks.
Dr. Smith practiced oral and maxillofacial surgery in Hunt Valley for more than a
decade before joining his family’s media business. Dr. Paterakis, who practiced
dentistry in the Fells Point/Harbor East area of the city for 33 years, is one of six
children in a family that rose to prominence in Baltimore through its H&S Bakery
business and more recently has been involved in the development of Harbor East.
Noting that she was honored to enhance education at the university, Dr. Paterakis
said, “Philanthropy and service to the community were values instilled in me at a
very young age.”

The Tradition of Endowed Professorships
The first endowed professorships were established more than 500 years ago with the
creation of the Lady Margaret chairs in divinity at Oxford and Cambridge universities.
The original endowed chairs were sponsored in 1502 by Lady Margaret, countess of
Richmond and grandmother of Henry VIII. Subsequently, individuals began making
financial contributions to establish other endowed professorships and chairs such as
the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, which Sir Isaac Newton held beginning in 1669.
Professor Stephen Hawking, the internationally renowned physicist and recipient of
the 2010 U.S. Medal of Freedom, was another prominent holder of the endowed chair.
The honor associated with appointment to an endowed position has remained
unchanged for the last 500 years and is recognized as one of the highest tributes
that an academic institution can bestow upon its most distinguished faculty.
These endowed professorships and chairs continue to reward exceptional scholars
uninterrupted to the present time.
The Office of Development is charged with securing private gifts to ensure that
the University of Maryland School of Dentistry’s tradition of excellence is sustained
through robust research, patient care, and educational programs and initiatives.
The School of Dentistry is deeply grateful to its dedicated alumni and friends for
their generous support of its endowed chairs.