Dr. Elizabeth “Liz” Andrews is a native of Southern California. She obtained her B.A. in Biology from California State University, Northridge, followed by her Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree from the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. She owned and operated a general dentistry private practice for 10 years in Merced, CA, and completed her specialty training and master’s degree in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry. During her time in private practice, Dr. Andrews was the first female dentist in Merced, leading Merced County as the Health Department Liaison helping to improve oral health for the community. She also served as the first female President of the Yosemite Dental Society and subsequently, was appointed as a Trustee to the California Dental Association. 

In 2008, Dr. Andrews joined Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (WU CDM) during its infancy as a new dental school.  She served as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and was integral in developing the Office of Academic Affairs, managing staff and faculty while providing oversight of the burgeoning curriculum to ensure student and programmatic success. Early on, Dr. Andrews helped establish the American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD) chapter at CDM, fostering service activities aimed at helping women in need. The AAWD chapter established a girl scout troop in Pomona and provided over $40,000 of dental care to women from the Crossroads Program. 

Nationally, Dr. Andrews served as the Chair for the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Women in Leadership Section and was instrumental in establishing a leadership development program at no cost to all ADEA members.  

Dr. Andrews has been teaching Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology in her faculty role since 2009, and her research interests include HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and the impact of interprofessional collaborative care. After serving 11 years as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for WU CDM, Dr. Andrews was appointed to serve as its Dean—setting the bar again as the first female Dean of a California dental school.

Prof. Oluranti daCosta is a specialist in the field of Orthodontics. She is a lecturer with the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, and an Honorary consultant with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. She graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos in 1983 with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery and went on to specialize in Orthodontics at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital Lagos, Nigeria, being one of the first three to be trained in the specialty in Nigeria. She has actively practiced Orthodontics for over 30 years and is responsible for training and mentoring hundreds of undergraduates as well as numerous postgraduate students, many of whom are now academics themselves. 

Prof. daCosta has attended and presented at numerous national and international conferences and workshops on her specialty to improve her knowledge and skill acquisition. She is a member of numerous dental and orthodontic associations both nationally and internationally. She is a Past President of the Nigerian Association of Orthodontists. She is also a member of the Smile Train African Medical Advisory Committee. 

Prof. daCosta has authored and co-authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. She has held several positions of responsibility at faculty-, college- and university-level. A member and Chairman of various committees, a past Departmental Coordinator, Acting Head of Department and is the Immediate Past Dean, Faculty of Dental Sciences.   

Prof. Oluranti daCosta is happily married to Dr. V. A. daCosta, who is also a dentist, and is the mother to three wonderful children.

Blánaid Daly is Professor of Special Care Dentistry and Dean of Dental Affairs /Head of School at the School of Dental Science, Trinity College Dublin (TCD).

Blánaid graduated in Dentistry from TCD. She worked in the Irish Community and Hospital Dental Services and then moved to the UK to pursue higher training and joined the Dental School at King’s College London (KCL). While at King’s, she combined her academic interest in Dental Public Health (DPH) with the clinical specialty of Special Care Dentistry (SCD). She was course director for a Master’s programme in D.P.H. and the M.Sc. in Community Dental Practice. Her Ph.D. explored the oral health needs of homeless people and was informed by her work setting up and providing direct dental care services to homeless people in three London boroughs. Blánaid has always had a great interest in oral health promotion and was a co-founder of the Oral Health Promotion Research Group in 1992 with Richard Watt (UCL) and was President in 1999/2000.

Blánaid returned to TCD in 2016 as Professor of Special Care Dentistry and Head of the Department of Public & Child Dental Health.  Her overarching research and advocacy interests have remained the reduction of oral health inequalities, and widening access to dental care particularly amongst vulnerable groups and people living with disability. In 2019, she was a contributing author to the Lancet series on oral health that highlighted the global public health importance of oral diseases and the need for a radically different policy agenda to tackle this major public health problem. In 2020 she was appointed to the Lancet Commission on Global Oral Health Inequalities and was joint winner of the Aubrey Sheiham award for distinguished research in Dental Public Health from the International Association of Dental Research (IADR). As Dean of Dental Affairs since 2022, Blánaid is keen to ensure dental curricula are inclusive and equip graduates with the skills and competence to meet the oral health needs of the Irish population including those who are vulnerable and marginalised.  She is also a strong advocate for retention, participation and inclusion of women in academic dentistry and in STEM research.