Dr. Valerie Murrah, chair of the UNC School of Dentistry's department of
diagnostic sciences and general dentistry, represented all
board-certified oral and maxillofacial pathologists at the American
Dental Association's August meeting of dental specialty boards.
Murrah, also director of oral and maxillofacial pathology at the School
of Dentistry, is president of the American Board of Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology for 2005-2006. A member of the UNC School of
Dentistry faculty since 1998, she is the first female president in the
board's 58-year history.
Oral and maxillofacial pathology, one of the nine formally recognized
specialties of dentistry, focuses on the diagnosis and management of
disorders and abnormalities of the oral and maxillofacial region. Such
abnormalities include, but are not limited to, cold sores and oral
cancer.
The UNC Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Laboratory, which Murrah
directs, diagnoses more than 6,000 biopsies of oral abnormalities per
year, and UNC oral pathologists see more than 600 patients every year.
Murrah also will preside over the national board's October meeting,
during which about 15 new diplomates will be certified.
