Faculty, Staff Recognized by Class of 2025 for Teaching, Service

Philadelphia — Penn Dental Medicine faculty and staff members have been honored for excellence in teaching and service by the Class of 2025. Each academic year, the graduating class recognizes members of the faculty and staff who have had a significant impact on their educational experience; this year’s awards were presented as part of the Senior Farewell celebration, held May 13. The awards and honorees included:

The Basic Science Award – presented for excellence in teaching within the basic sciences. This year’s recipient is Dr. Elliot Hersh, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery/Pharmacology. This marks a record 24 times that Dr. Hersh has received this award over his teaching career at Penn Dental Medicine. A highly respected researcher in non-addicting strategies to manage acute postoperative dental pain, Dr. Hersh joined the Penn Dental Medicine faculty in 1988. He directed and lectured extensively in both the Introduction to Pharmacology and Neuropharmacology courses. Dr. Hersh is a past recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, a co-recipient of the University’s One Health Award with Drs. John Farrar and Rosemary Polomano and an invited speaker at NASEM.

The Robert E. DeRevere Award – presented for excellence in preclinical teaching by a part-time faculty member. The award is named in honor of Dr. DeRevere, a member of the Penn Dental Medicine Class of 1945, who served on the School’s faculty. This year’s recipient is Dr. Frank Smithgall (C’79, D’83), Clinical Associate Professor of Restorative Dentistry, who has been a member of the School’s part-time faculty since 1984. Dr. Smithgall lectures in preclinical courses, and for the past nine years, he has been Course Director of “Partial Removable Dental Prosthesis.” This is the eleventh time Dr. Smithgall has been honored with this award, also receiving it in 1990, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

The Joseph L. T. Appleton Award – presented to a part-time faculty member for excellence in clinical teaching. This year’s honoree is Dr. Keith Sharkan. Dr. Sharkan is a Clinical Associate in the Division of Restorative Dentistry and has been a part of the school’s clinical faculty since 2017, teaching students general restorative care within the clinics.  He says he enjoys challenging his students to expand their clinical knowledge as well as developing their patient communication skills, noting that teaching has added an enjoyable dimension to his dental career. The Appleton Award is named in honor of Dr. Joseph Appleton, a 1914 alumnus of Penn Dental Medicine, who served as dean of the School from 1941 to 1951. The award was founded in 1979 by Dr. Abram Cohen, a member of the Class of 1923 and father of Dean Emeritus D. Walter Cohen.

The Earle Bank Hoyt Award – presented for excellence in teaching to a faculty member who is a Penn Dental Medicine graduate. The award was established by a grateful patient in honor of Dr. Hoyt, a distinguished clinician and educator and member of the Class of 1918. This year’s recipient is Dr. Roopali Kulkarni (D’19, GR’19, GD’21), Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine, who earned her DMD with a Master of Public Health at Penn Dental Medicine and completed postdoctoral training in Oral Medicine here as well. Joining the faculty in 2021, Dr. Kulkarni currently serves as the Assistant Director (2022-present) of Penn Dental Medicine’s postgraduate oral medicine program and is on the medical staff (2021-present) in the Division of Oral Medicine at Penn Medicine. She teaches both postdoctoral and predoctoral students clinically, and didactically, she lectures on a wide range of subjects relating to oral medicine and interdisciplinary care. Her scholarly work focuses on both oral medicine and public health. The is the second time Dr. Kulkarni was recognized with the award, also receiving it in 2022.

The Senior Outstanding Teaching Award – presented to a faculty member who goes beyond the scope of his/her responsibilities to significantly impact the class’s education at Penn Dental Medicine. This year’s recipient is Artur Kofman, C.D.T. Director of Laboratory Affairs and the Office of Laboratory Affairs Supervisor for the clinical labs at the School; this is the ninth year in a row that he was recognized with this award. Mr. Kofman has been sharing his knowledge and expertise in dental lab work with students as a member of the school’s staff for the past 24 years. Among his responsibilities, he coordinates students’ lab work from the school to commercial laboratories and vice versa, guides dental students in lab-related technical issues, and provides hands-on assistance as needed for minor adjustments to dental appliances at a chair-side setting. In addition, he operates the 3D printing lab for fabricating 3D models, occlusal guards, and surgical guides and is involved in the newly designed curriculum for CAD/CAM and printing of digital dentures for the dental students.

Outstanding Service Award — presented to a staff member who is highly regarded within the Penn Dental Medicine community for their extraordinary dedication. This award celebrates an individual who, in the estimation of the Senior Class, has consistently gone beyond their formal responsibilities to significantly enhance the overall experience of the Senior Class at Penn Dental Medicine. This year’s recipient is Unique Coates, who is part of the Instrument Management Services (IMS) team. Mr. Coates has been working in Penn Dental Medicine’s IMS for three years.