The AIDPH 2022 Summer Oral Health Fellowship kicked off in June. This 10-week program is focused on advocacy and research for special populations including veteran oral health, oral health for LGBTQIA+ people, and oral health in rural communities. Participants will have the opportunity to match areas of interest to opportunities within AIDPH’s programming.
We are proud to introduce you to the five remarkable fellows who are working on projects in education, science, research, and advocacy programming through the end of August.
Elizabeth Alpert, DDS, MPH
Elizabeth graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine before pursuing a two-year General Practice Residency at the University of Washington (Hospital Dentistry and Special Care Dentistry). She also completed a year-long fellowship in Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) and graduated with a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Deeply passionate about public health and addressing oral health disparities, she divides her time between clinical practice, academics, and research. She practices general dentistry in Boston, MA, teaches both dental and dental hygiene students at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and works as a Research Associate in Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Elizabeth’s summer project will evaluate the impact of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on veteran-owned dental businesses.
Pamela Nwachukwu, BDS
Pamela is a dentist, dental public health resident and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Iowa. Her research interests include health services, health economics, and health policy research. Her career goal is to promote access to oral healthcare for underserved populations, through research and public health dentistry.
Pamela’s summer project will determine trends in oral health markers and physical outcomes of veterans by income and rurality.
McAllister Castelaz, DMD, FAGD
McAllister is a dental public health resident with experience providing care in federally qualified health centers. She previously worked as a lead dentist at a community health center in Wisconsin and dental director of a community health center in Virginia. Before entering clinical practice, she graduated from Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine with her D.M.D. and completed a General Practice Residency at Lancaster General Hospital.
She is an active advocate for alternative care models, including teledentistry and mobile dentistry as a means to increase access to care and create an equitable oral health system.
McAllister’s summer project will focus on best practice resources of dentists in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and rural clinics.
Denijah Miller
Denijah is a 2019 graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Flint, Michigan. She is currently in her second year of her Master of Public Health program at Howard University. Denijah has three years of experience working with DC government and is a full-time employee at DC Health as a Health Licensing Specialist in the Department of Health Regulation and Licensing Administration.
Her interests focus on oral health and health disparities in minority populations and underrepresented communities.
Denijah’s summer project will focus on best practices for dental educators and dental students working with LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities.
Elizabeth Flannery
Elizabeth is a second year Master of Public Health student at Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University. With an undergraduate degree in communications from Marist College, she began her MPH program after a career in nonprofit management focusing on community engagement.Passionate about addressing health disparities, Elizabeth’s research interests are in maternal and child health and veteran and military population health.