Dr. Eric T. Stoopler Receives Penn’s 2013 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching

Dr. Eric T. Stoopler

  Philadelphia – Dr. Eric T. Stoopler (D’99, GD’02), Associate Professor of Oral Medicine at Penn Dental Medicine, has been recognized for his excellence in teaching as a 2013 recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Awards for Distinguished Teaching.

Penn presents eight Lindback awards each year, divided evenly between health-related disciplines and all other departments and divisions.

Award winners are determined by nominations and recommendations made by faculty and students.

Dr. Stoopler has been part of the School’s standing faculty since 2002, starting as Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine and promoted to Associate Professor of Oral Medicine in 2011. Since 2007, he has served as Director of the School’s Oral Medicine Residency Program, and, in addition, he currently directs the oral medicine externship program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and he is on the medical staff at HUP, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Stoopler’s many teaching roles at Penn Dental Medicine include course director for Principles of Medicine, the oral medicine core curriculum for Graduate Dental Education, the Vernon J. Brightman Conference Series, and the Advanced Clinical Oral Medicine Selective. He is also a lecturer in 10 other courses at the pre- and postdoctoral levels.

“His compassion and professional conduct towards patients, students and fellow colleagues serves as an example for all clinicians and educators,” wrote one student in his award nomination as another calls him “a role model for his students about how to be a thorough, patient, and caring doctor.” In particular, both students and colleagues appreciate his focus on integrating basic and clinical science: he “does a fantastic job,” wrote another student, of articulating “dental management considerations for every disease process studied – what we should consider before, during and after treatment—including everything from what drugs are contraindications to what labs to order for consultation.” In the end, wrote a student, “my personal experience with Dr. Stoopler was one of extraordinary encouragement and mentorship. In fact, he is one of the best educators I have ever had the pleasure of encountering. Thanks to his mentorship, I became passionate about the field of oral medicine.”

The Lindback Awards for Distinguished Teaching at Penn were established in 1961 with the help of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation. This year’s recipients will be recognized at a University-wide event held on April 17, 2013.