Allen Conan Davis, DMD, was recently appointed assistant dean for community collaborations and public health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Dentistry. The appointment will enable the school to improve oral health through community-based education, research, and service, according to the university.
"Our school has strengthened its interactions with other healthcare delivery systems in recent years by establishing relationships with community-based healthcare systems across our state," stated Michael Reddy, DMD, DMSc, dean of the dental school, in a UAB news story. "We have excellent interprofessional collaborations and activities with the UAB Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Optometry, Public Health, and Health Professions. Under Conan's direction, these partnerships have been re-energized through a grant from the DentaQuest Foundation to train health professions students. His leadership will be valuable as we continue to build and maintain these and other relationships at UAB, in Birmingham and beyond in the years to come."
Davis, a UAB graduate, returned four years ago as the director of community collaborations. Previously, he was Alabama's public health dental director from 1986 to 1999 and served an American Dental Association-sponsored U.S. congressional fellowship from 2001 to 2002, working for the Senate Health Committee. Davis was then chief dental officer at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid from 2003 to 2010.
Dr. Davis said he would work to build on the existing strengths of the school's community service programs.
"Dr. Reddy is passionate about educating dental clinicians, our research efforts, our growing patient-centered clinical practice, and the role we play in our local and global communities," Davis said. "I appreciate his confidence in me, and I believe our entire School of Dentistry team will work to continue to build upon our strengths in our community service endeavors."
