Human Evolutionary Biology 1421: Teeth

As mentioned previously, at the 2011 Boston Pre-Dental Conference hosted by Harvard's very own Pre-Dental Society (which was a tremendous success by the way, see my previous post!), there were a number of fantastic speakers and presenters. One of whom, Dr. Tanya Smith, Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, gave a truly fascinating presentation not only on her research on dental development and 3D fossil tooth structure, but also on her course to be offered next Fall semester!

Her course is aptly named Human Evolutionary Biology 1421: Teeth. Although the course name may sound ridiculously boring and sleep-inducing to some of you (my friend Judith says this sounds potentially worse than Plant Biology), to the few of us enlightened folk out there - isn't this really exciting? Seriously though ...

Anyways, the last time the course was offered, which was in Fall of 2009, the class received near perfect ratings (4.8 out of 5 on the Harvard Q Guide). Plus, the research seminar-type class is capped at 6 students, and you spearhead your own independent research project. That's right, SIX students! I guess there is life after those humongous general chemistry and organic chemistry lectures.

Here's the course description from the website:

"Teeth are one of the best preserved and most commonly-recovered elements in fossil assemblages. This seminar will focus on ways in which dental remains may inform studies of primate growth and development, ecology, and social structure. Students will read and discuss current scientific literature, engage in histological studies in the Dental Hard Tissue Laboratory, and conduct pilot research projects."

So that probably sent the rest of you packing. BUT to me and a couple of my friends this is amazing!

Another friend says that there might as well be a course titled Human Evolutionary Biology 4321: Eyeballs for people interested in optometry school. What's next, an English department? Ahhh let's pretend she didn't say that ...

See you at shopping week!

This hygiene is acceptable ... if you've been dead for a few centuries.

Eric

Pre-Dental Society Updates

Great news: the website for the pre-dental society is almost finished - it will be up and running soon!

As a brief preview, here is the bio I will be putting up on the website. I've always been asked a lot why a career in dentistry and not say, medicine (or finance, consulting). The answer and story that comes with it is long, but I'll be sure to share it all with you sometime in the future. I promise!

But for now, here's the bio:

Eric Chen
Class of 2012 | Molecular and Cellular Biology

My belief in the commitment to the best self and the common good saw tremendous alignment with my passion for dentistry. The creation of a patient's best self through oral health and confidence, and the commitment to the greater community from a public health perspective - these are my visions in dentistry. Outside of the classroom I serve as President and former concertmaster of the Mozart Society Orchestra, and volunteer heavily with the Harvard College Red Cross. I'm an avid swimmer and water polo player, I love the beach, and I also write a blog on all things teeth!


And no the last line was NOT a shameless plug for my blog ... otherwise I would have included a link! :)

In other news, we're currently in the midst of organizing our 2011 Boston Pre-Dental Conference, to be held on campus in Cambridge! Details coming soon!

Eric

Election results!

So the results are in ...

I'm now Treasurer of the Harvard Pre-Dental Society!

And YES the Pre-Dental Society is in fact officially reinstated after a relatively long hiatus (a couple of years).

See my previous post about Harvard's Pre-Dental Society!

I'll continue to blog about the events we will host and the services we will provide to the university as well as to Cambridge community - stay tuned :)

Eric

The Harvard Pre-Dental Society - reinstated!

On Saturday, September the 11th, 2010, the Harvard community experienced a small-scale renaissance (VERY small-scale) - the reinstatement of the Harvard Pre-Dental Society!

That's right folks - earlier today a group of determined and enthusiastic individuals sharing the same career plans assembled themselves and discussed the plans, goals, and future of one of Harvard's three pre-professional student organizations. In this gathering birthed a number of ideas for the year including a dental research symposium and community outreach through flossing/brushing education for grade-school students in Boston.

Although this group is relatively modest in size, I DO see a ton of potential and momentum in us members alone, not to mention the additional faculty support. Here's to an exciting year!

PS - There will be elections for board positions at some point next week, and I'm definitely interested in running for a position to play an immediate and active role in the pre-dental society's revival and education/research initiatives. Board member or not, I'll be sure to keep posting about our group's accomplishments and ideas!

Eric