University at Buffalo dental school names Dr. Stefan Ruhl as interim dean
The University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine announced Dec. 10 that it named Stefan Ruhl, D.D.S., as interim dean, effective Jan. 6.
A professor and associate chair of the school's department of oral biology, Dr. Ruhl is a renowned scholar and researcher. He was among the first researchers to catalog the human salivary proteome, which is the entirety of proteins in saliva and in salivary gland ductal secretions, according to the University at Buffalo.
"We are grateful to Dr. Ruhl for his leadership and service during this transitional period, during which time we will launch an international search for the next dean of the School of Dental Medicine," said A. Scott Weber, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, and Allison Brashear, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in a university-wide memo.
Dr. Ruhl joined the University at Buffalo faculty in 2007 from the University of Regensburg, Germany, where he was a professor of operative dentistry and periodontology. He received his dental degree and a doctoral degree in immunology from the Georg-August University of Gottingen.
Dr. Ruhl is an associate editor of JADA Foundational Science, the ADA's new open-access, online only, interdisciplinary journal. He is also a former president of the International Association of Dental Research Salivary Research Group. The IADR recognized him with the Distinguished Scientist Award in Salivary Research in 2020 and the Salivary Researcher of the Year in 2014. He also serves as editor-in-chief of Clinical Oral Investigations, an editorial board member of the Journal of Dental Research, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
"My colleagues here at UB know me primarily as a scientist, but many don't know that I worked in private dental practice for two years and was active for more than 12 years in academic clinical dentistry," Dr. Ruhl said in a news release. "I know our profession from both sides of the spectrum, and that is why I believe I will be able to bridge these two domains at our school."
