Gies Awards Recipients

Mr. Haddad has transformed the oral health and health professions enrollment management landscape, bringing exceptional impact and value to dental education. Mr. Haddad and Liaison International have created innovations that have helped strengthen the application system for oral health education applicants and for schools, colleges and programs across the United States and around the globe. Under Mr. Haddad’s leadership, Liaison International has grown as a recognized leader in higher education technologies and has revolutionized enrollment management services with innovative recruitment solutions, admissions management software and centralized application services for health professions associations.

Dr. Feldman pursues excellence in leadership and has had decades of measurable impact on academic dentistry, oral health education and research. She co-authored the first landmark manuscript on the dental electronic health record (EHR) and investigated the technology that made the dental EHR a reality. She is currently the principal investigator of a groundbreaking, $11.5 million NIH- and NIDCR-supported multi-site, double-blind randomized clinical trial.

Dr. Feldman’s vision and leadership are demonstrated through her academic and business acumen, deep commitment to the future of dental education and ability to energize and bring people together to move the profession forward.

Lois K. Cohen, Ph.D.

Dr. Cohen, a distinguished sociologist and health science administrator, has made profound contributions to global oral health over her 60-year career. Her career exemplifies a lifelong dedication to advancing global oral health through interdisciplinary research, advocacy and leadership. From pioneering research integrating behavioral and social sciences into dentistry to her leadership in international health policy, she has set standards and fostered transformative change worldwide.

Dr. Cohen’s mentoring of dental public health residents and her consultation with global health institutions reflects her commitment to nurturing the next generation of global health leaders.

Dennis A. Mitchell, D.D.S., M.P.H.

Dr. Mitchell is an extraordinary steward of academic achievement, specifically regarding including interprofessional education in the allied dental community, developing innovative academic programs, and focusing on paving diverse and inclusive pathway programs to generate future leaders in health care education.

In 2004, Dr. Mitchell became the first diversity-focused associate dean at a U.S. dental school, and through his efforts, his student pathway programs have received external funding totaling over $15 million. He is deeply committed to ensuring that the next generation of dental leaders is truly prepared to meet the total health needs of the communities that they serve.