2019 Shils Awards

Dr. Teresa A. Dolan
Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer—Dentsply Sirona
“In recognition of your “Excellence in Industry” entrepreneurial efforts, dedicated leadership and unique skill set, which has enabled the technologically driven oral health education program of Dentsply Sirona to reach more than 400,000 dental professionals worldwide.”

Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers provide culturally competent comprehensive primary care, and state of the art HIV primary care to low-income members of the community, along with research, consumer education, advocacy, social services and outreach to people living with HIV and those who are at high risk, including family members, communities with high rates of HIV, formerly incarcerated persons, and young people at risk; and access to the most advanced clinical research in HIV treatment and prevention.

Meg Booth, MPH
Executive Director, Children’s Dental Health Project
“In recognition of your “Excellence in NGO” efforts to transform the status of children’s oral health across our nation through your innovative leadership at the Children’s Dental Health Project.”

Dr. Joseph Brofsky
Section Head, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, North Shore LIJ Cohen Children’s Hospital
“In recognition of your “Excellence in Community Service,” innovatively leading and expanding the Nassau County Give Kids a Smile program, one of the largest events of its kind in the country, to advance the oral, and thereby overall, health of thousands of underserved and special needs children.”

Dr. Stephen LeBeau
President, nanoMAG, LLC
“In recognition of your “Excellence in Research” innovative efforts to significantly advance the development of bioabsorable implants made of high-strength magnesium alloys with the potential to transform this area of oral health care delivery.”

Stephen LeBeau, PhD has 35 years experience in the areas of manufacturing and materials processing and commercial market development of advanced materials. nanoMAG LLC is the fourth start up experience for Dr. LeBeau.Stephen has a technical background by training but his commercial success is due mainly to his skills at teambuilding across multiple functions and between organizations. Dr. LeBeau has a PhD in Mat. Eng. from the Univ of Wisconsin.

Dr. Karen Fields-Lever
Founder & Owner, 28 to Brush Dental Studio and Mobile Dentistry Program
“In recognition of your tremendously innovative efforts in expanding 28 to Brush Studio’s delivery of care to more than 3,000 patients, as well as the creation of your mobile dentistry segment, raising awareness and brightening the smiles of more than 16,000 students.”

Dr. Karen Fields-Lever hails from Detroit, Michigan, graduating from the distinguished Catholic college preparatory school for young women—Mercy High School. Dr. Fields-Lever completed her undergraduate education at Spelman College, with honors, receiving a Bachelors of Science in Biology Pre-Medicine. Soon after receiving her bachelors, Dr. Fields-Lever attended Dental School at Howard University College of Dentistry; it is there that she earned her Doctorate of Dental Surgery. She completed residency at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Fields is a Forest Park Dentist.

Dr. Fields-Lever has practiced for the past nine years and recently celebrated her three-year anniversary for her own practice—28 to BRUSH—located in Forest Park, Illinois. The Practice experienced tremendous growth accumulating over 3,000 patients to date. In 2016, she launched a mobile dentistry segment to the business providing oral health services on-site at community centers and schools. This segment of her business now provides in-school services to over 16,000 students. Dr. Fields-Lever is currently involved in the American. Dental Association (ADA), Illinois Dental Society, Chicago Dental Society (CDS), the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), and International Association of Orthodontics.

Dr. Fields-Lever resides in the City of Chicago with her husband, DeJuan, and is the mother of three children: London, Lane, and Lawson. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family at Chicago’s various attractions as well as retail therapy—shopping!

Community service is very important to Dr. Fields-Lever, hence she manages to volunteer at several day care centers; such as My Little Angels and Montessori Spanish Immersion—stressing the importance of oral health and proper oral care in early childhood. She has also paired with the Minority Student Organization of Triton College to educate students of oral health while encouraging students to pursue the health field as a career option. Dr. Fields-Lever is a contributor and supports organizations such as the KLEO Center, Urban Initiatives, Breakthrough Ministries, and Spelman Alumnae Association. She is also a member of Jack & Jill—Western Cook County Chapter.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “We must be the change that we wish to see in the world,” and Dr. Fields-Lever threads this thought into everything that she accomplishes.

Dr. Daniel H. Fine, DMD
“In recognition of your longtime unwavering dedication to the field of integrated medical and dental research of oral infectious diseases, significantly advancing the ability of healthcare professionals to successfully treat their patients, and ultimately helping to improve our nation’s overall health.”

Dr. Fine graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine and earned a certificate in periodontology from New York University School of Dentistry.

Dr. Fine began his academic career in dentistry at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine where he served as assistant professor of periodontology and research associate in the Department of Microbiology. Dr. Fine joined Columbia University, School of Dental and Oral Surgery as a member of the Department of Preventive Dentistry and was a postdoctoral research student in the Department of Pathology, The Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and became an associate professor in 1976, a professor in 1987, and served as Director, Division of Oral Infectious Diseases from 1987 to 1994. Dr. Fine was a Visiting Scientist in the Department of Oral Immunology and Microbiology, Guy’s Hospital, London, from 1979–1980 and at the American Museum of Natural History from 2010–2011.

Dr. Fine joined Rutgers School of Dental Medicine in 1994 as professor and Director, Division of Oral Biology. In 1996 he was named Director of the Dental Research Center, in 2002 he became Chair of the Department of Oral Biology, and in 2010 he was named Senior Associate Dean of Rutgers School of Graduate Studies.

Dr. Fine’s research interests are related to both clinical and laboratory research. His clinical research focuses on discovery of diagnostic biomarkers and cost-effective strategies for the prevention of caries and periodontal disease. His laboratory focus is related to host pathogen interactions in periodontal disease with an emphasis on genetic regulation of bacterial virulence. He has authored 175 articles in scientific journals and has been an invited speaker at Universities, nationally and internationally.

Dr. Fine has been a Principal Investigator on numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and served as NIH consultant and on the Technical Advisory panel for Evaluation of Periodontal Diseases Portfolio for NIDCR. Dr. Fine has served as President, New Jersey Section, American Association for Dental Research; a member of the council on Dental Therapeutics, American Dental Association; the Board of Directors; Northeastern Society of Periodontitis; and an Examiner, Periodontics Section, Northeast Regional Board, among other appointments. Dr. Fine has served on the editorial board and as an editorial reviewer of many dental and scientific journals, including the Journal of Dental Research, the Journal of American Dental Association, Journal of Periodontology, Molecular and Cellular Probes and Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology Medicine.