North Texas Dentistry Volume 9 Issue 3 2019 ISSUE 3 DE | Page 5

Texas A&M College of Dentistry
Teachers of the Year
Wang, Vu awarded college’s top teaching honors
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by Kathleen Green Pothier
aculty members Dr. Qian Wang and
Mary Vu recently received the 2019
Teacher of the Year awards, pre-
sented annually by the Texas A&M College
of Dentistry Alumni Association and
selected by the college’s student body.
Wang, an associate professor in the
Department of Biomedical Sciences, was
named Dental Teacher of the Year. Vu, a
clinical assistant professor and clinic coor-
dinator for the college’s Caruth School
of Dental Hygiene, was named Dental
Hygiene Teacher of the Year.
Wang received a doctorate in physical
anthropology from the Institute of Verte-
brate Pale ontology and Paleoanthropol-
ogy, Chinese Academy of Sciences in
Beijing, China. He did postdoctoral train-
ing in human biology and evolution at the
University of the Witwatersrand Medical
School in Johannesburg, South Africa, and
in craniofacial bone biol ogy at Texas A&M
College of Dentistry.
After eight years on the faculty of Mercer
University School of Medicine in Macon,
Georgia, Wang returned to Dallas, where
he has served the dental school as course
director of gross anatomy and graduate
head and neck functional anatomy. He also
has served as director of the gross anatomy
laboratory and the anatomy course.
He is a National Science Foundation
research grant recipient, a widely pub-
lished researcher and sought-after speaker.
His research focus is on craniofacial func-
tional morphology and the history of oral
and bone health. Recently, Wang’s
groundbreaking research recognized the
negative impacts of long-term low testos-
terone on oral health.
Vu received a bachelor’s degree in bio-
logical sciences from the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln and a subse quent bach-
elor’s degree in dental hygiene at the
Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene at
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and
Health Sciences.
Aspirations to teach led Vu to pursue her
master’s degree in dental hygiene at Texas
A&M College of Dentistry, and she’s now a
doctoral candidate in educational psychol-
ogy at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Her research interests are in human cog-
nition, adult learning and holistic wellness
and its positive impact on academic, pro-
fessional and personal success.
Vu is a recent recipient of the Distin-
guished Achievement Award from The
Associa tion of Former Students of Texas
A&M University. She believes students
learn best from teachers who inspire them.
Her goal is to encourage students to be the
best health care professionals they can be
while remaining compas sionate, honest
and kind.
Texas A&M College of Dentistry (formerly Baylor
College of Dentistry) in Dallas is a part of Texas
A&M University and Texas A&M Health Science
Center. Founded in 1905, the College of Dentistry
is a nationally recognized center for oral
health sciences education, research, specialized
patient care and continuing dental education.
Learn more at dentistryinsider.tamhsc.edu or
follow @TAMUdental.
Kathleen Green Pothier is communications coor-
dinator at Texas A&M College of Dentistry. She
previously worked at Positively Proofed, where she
wrote and edited content for corporate clients, pub-
lications and motivational speakers. She also was
a writer and editor at The Dallas Morning News,
Houston Post and Beaumont Enterprise. Pothier
has a journalism degree from the University
of Nebraska.
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