January 10, 2008
New chair appointed to Restorative Dentistry
Dr. John C. Wataha has been appointed as chair of the UW Department of Restorative Dentistry. Wataha comes to us from the School of Dentistry at the Medical College of Georgia, where he was professor in the Department of Oral Biology and Maxillofacial Pathology with joint appointments in the Dental Materials Division, Department of Oral Rehabilitation and School of Graduate Studies.
Wataha will assume the position vacated by Glen Johnson, who served as interim chair following the retirement of Richard (Dick) McCoy in 2006. A prominent researcher and educator, Wataha will teach courses in restorative dentistry and will continue to pursue his interests in the interface between dental materials science, basic cellular biology and clinical practice. He will maintain his existing collaborations with investigators internationally on interdisciplinary projects focusing on the cellular and molecular interactions between oral tissues and materials — a field known as biocompatibility.
