This past year, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine was awarded a grant from DentaQuest to support and introduce a new fellowship opportunity titled, “Fellowship in Oral Medicine and Oral Oncology.” The fellowship program aims to provide in-depth training for community dentists so that they are adequately prepared to manage cancer patients throughout the course of their cancer treatment and post-cancer therapy. A goal of this new program is to contribute to an overall improvement in community health by increasing the knowledge, ability, and engagement of the general practitioner. Graduates of the fellowship program will be expected to serve as community experts, providing a critical resource for oncologists, dentists, and cancer patients. The Fellowship in Oral Medicine and Oral Oncology is a full-time training program completed throughout the course of one year and is targeted to dentists who are committed to developing expertise in oncology and oral health and serving as community leaders. Clinical training is based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Paolo Fantozzi, DDS, a dentist trained at Sapienza University of Rome, School of Dentistry, has been appointed as the first Oral Oncology Fellow of the HSDM/BWH Division of Oral Medicine. His training will include in-depth instruction on how to better manage cancer patients in a community setting. His clinical training will take place at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, with additional rotations at other Harvard teaching hospitals. Dr. Alessandro Villa, director of the Advanced Graduate Oral Medicine Program and director of the Oral Oncology and Oral Medicine Fellowship at HSDM, will oversee Dr. Fantozzi’s training.
Dr. Fantozzi is excited about this fellowship opportunity for a variety of reasons. “First, you have the opportunity to approach oral oncology clinically, as well as through research. I believe that this is really important. The program is directed toward those who want to gain expertise in oncology and oral health while serving the community.”
“Another aspect that thrills me is the diversity of the BWH/DFCI and HSDM communities,” says Dr. Fantozzi. “I think this is a crucial strength of this fellowship. The perks of working with such a diverse community are immense. You get to know different people from a variety of backgrounds, and learn from their experiences.”