He received his D.D.S. from Emory University Dental School and certificates in Periodontology/Oral Medicine from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and in Oral Microbiology from the Forsyth Institute. Following completion of his fellowship at Harvard and Forsyth, he joined the faculty in the Department of Periodontology (now Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity) and has served in that department since that time.
Dr. Howell is currently the A. Lee Loomis Professor of Periodontology and Dean for Dental Education at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. In the latter role, Dr. Howell has responsibility for all educational, resident and student programs offered by the School, including those in Master of Medical Science (MMSc), Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), advanced certificate and continuing education. He was the primary architect of Harvard’s hybrid Problem-Based Learning (PBL) pre-doctoral clinical curriculum that is a unique learning model for comprehensive, interdisciplinary dental education.
In addition to his commitment to dental education, Dr. Howell has had an ongoing career in periodontal research. His scientific contributions have included numerous publications on the use of pharmacologic agents for antibiotic and anti-metabolic modulation of periodontal disease progression. He has reported on the use of several growth factors for the regeneration of alveolar bone and other periodontal tissues lost to periodontal disease. Most recently, he has been investigating the use of a cytokine to down-regulate inflammatory mediators associated with periodontal disease progression. Additionally, he has published on matters of interest to dental education.
Clinical / Academic / Research interests Dr. Howell maintains an active clinical practice specializing in Periodontology in the Harvard Dental Center, the faculty practice at the School.
He maintains interest in innovative methodologies in dental education including topics related to organizational, didactic, laboratory and clinical educational structure and evaluation. |
