Nader Abdulhameed, B.D.S., Ph.D., returned to the UF College of Dentistry on March 17 as a clinical associate professor in the UF Department of Restorative Dental Sciences Division of Prosthodontics. He is focused on didactic, preclinical and clinical instruction for dental students and residents, and is also providing dental care for patients in the college’s Faculty Dental Practice.
Abdulhameed earned his dental degree from Al-Mustansiriyah University College of Dentistry in Bagdad, Iraq, in 2008. He stayed in Bagdad where, in 2010, he completed a multi-specialty residency in operative dentistry, periodontology and prosthodontics and, in 2014, earned a master’s degree and certification in conservative dentistry which focuses on prosthodontics. During that time, he was a visiting scholar at UFCD while completing his master’s thesis. Abdulhameed also earned a certificate in orthodontic dentistry and, in 2012, completed an implant course in Bologna, Italy. In 2019, he graduated with his master’s degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida, and then earned a doctorate in materials science from UF in 2020.
In addition to furthering his studies after earning his dental degree in 2008, Abdulhameed was working as a general dentist while in Bagdad for the Ministry of Health – Iraq, in private practice. He was also a clinical adjunct professor for Bagdad University’s Department of Operative and Prosthodontics from 2012 to 2014.
From 2015 to 2018, Abdulhameed taught at UFCD in operative dentistry and prosthodontics, and was an adjunct lecturer in the UF Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In 2018, Abdulhameed left Gainesville to become an assistant professor at the LECOM School of Dentistry in the Department of Restorative Dentistry in Bradenton, Florida, where he then became the director of research in 2021.
He believes that studying multiple aspects of dentistry, combined with his understanding of materials science and engineering, allows him to offer the best treatment options for his patients using a highly-integrative approach to oral health care.
Mark Commean, D.M.D., joined the Operative Division of the UF Department of Restorative Dental Sciences on August 22 as a clinical assistant professor. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1996 at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois and his dental degree in 2000 from Southern Illinois University in Alton, Illinois. In 2001 he joined the U.S. Army and, in 2001, completed an advanced education in general dentistry program at Ft. Benning in Georgia. Following that he spent three years in the army providing oral health care at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany.
After completing his military service, Commean returned to Illinois where he worked in private practice from 2004 to 2023, most of that time in a practice that he and his wife owned. In addition to providing oral health care, he mentored new dental graduates in his practice.
At UFCD, Commean is focused on didactic, preclinical and clinical instruction for dental students, while also providing care for patients in the college’s Faculty Dental Practice.
On August 14, 14 years after earning her dental degree at the UF College of Dentistry, Vanisia H. Grant, D.M.D., returned to the college as a clinical assistant professor in the UF Department of Restorative Dental Sciences Division of General Dentistry.
Grant is focused on teaching dental students and serving as a team leader in the DMD clinic supervising students’ clinical activities relating to restorative dentistry, patient management, quality assurance and treatment planning. Team leaders play an integral role in transitioning dental students from the classroom and simulation laboratory to providing care to patients under faculty supervision.
Grant is a double Gator, having completed her bachelor’s degree in microbiology and cell science at UF in 2006, and remaining at UF for her dental education. While she was a dental student she was active in the UF Chapter of the Student National Dental Association, or SNDA, and served as a member of the Dental Ambassadors on behalf of the dean’s office. After Grant earned her dental degree, she continued her activities with the college as a speaker, volunteer dentist and panelist for the SNDA.
From 2009 to 2015, Grant was one of four dentists for the Thomas E. Langley Medical Center in Sumterville, Florida, which serves a largely rural population. In 2016, Grant moved to Spencer, Oklahoma, where she was one of two dentists at the Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center providing oral health care to an underserved community. Grant moved into private practice in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 2019 and remained there until returning to UFCD in August. She is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Dental Association.
Hind Hussein, B.D.S., joined the college on March 17 as a clinical assistant professor in the Operative Division of the UF Department of Restorative Dental Sciences. She is focused on didactic, preclinical and clinical instruction for dental students, and is also providing dental care for patients in the college’s Faculty Dental Practice.
Hussein earned her dental degree in 2011 from Al-Mustansiriyah University College of Dentistry in Bagdad, Iraq, and completed a multi-specialty residency in endodontics, operative dentistry, orthodontics, periodontology, prosthodontics, radiology and oral surgery in Bagdad in 2014. She also earned a certificate in orthodontic dentistry in 2013.
From 2014 to 2018, Hind was a visiting scientist, research assistant and courtesy clinical assistant professor for the UF Department of Restorative Dental Sciences. She left UF in 2018 to join the faculty in the LECOM School of Dentistry Department of Restorative Dentistry in Bradenton, Florida, where she worked for several years before returning to UF in March. She has registered two U.S. patents related to dental education instruments and two U.S. patents related to clinical dentistry.
Hussein has extensive experience as a course instructor for UFCD and for LECOM. In addition to her academic experience, she has worked in private practice, as a dentist in a public hospital, and has extensive research experience which, combined, makes it possible for her to help transfer didactic and clinical knowledge to UF dental students.
On July 24, Heidar Shahin, B.D.S., Ph.D., joined the Prosthodontics Division of the UF Department of Restorative Dental Sciences as a clinical assistant professor. His focus is primarily on didactic, preclinical and clinical teaching to DMD students in the areas of prosthodontics and general dentistry, while he also continues to pursue his research interests and provides patient care in the college’s Faculty Dental Practice.
Shahin attended Alexandria University in Egypt where he earned his dental degree in 2005 and his master’s degree in fixed prosthodontics in 2013. He completed a fellowship in advanced esthetic and restorative dentistry at Genoa University in Italy in 2016, and in 2023, he completed an advanced education program in prosthodontics at Louisiana State University’s School of Dentistry in New Orleans where he was awarded the first place Dr. Robert B. Brannon Research Award.
Shahin has eight years of dental education experience working as a lecturer and instructor at the Health Artistical Institute and Alexandria University, both in Egypt, most recently as a full-time lecturer of fixed prosthodontics at Alexandria University. He also worked in private practice for 14 years while furthering his education.
Visalakshi “Visa” Shivaraman, B.D.S., M.S.C., FRCD(C), a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, joined the Prosthodontics Division in the UF Department of Restorative Dental Sciences as a clinical assistant professor on July 24. Her focus is primarily on didactic, preclinical and clinical teaching to DMD students and prosthodontics residents in the area of prosthodontics, while she also continues to pursue her research interests and provides patient care in the college’s Faculty Dental Practice.
Shivaraman completed her dental degree in 2017 at the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences in Mumbai, India, followed by a fellowship in community based participatory research at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, also in Mumbai. She then pursued a certificate in Oral Implantology from Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. Shivaraman attended the University of British Columbia, or UBC, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where she earned her master’s degree in craniofacial biology and a certificate in prosthodontics in 2023. She was a recipient of the Canadian Institute of Health Research, or CIHR, CGS(M) research award, the Association of Prosthodontists of Canada Award for Academic Achievement and a DMD Teaching Award during her time at UBC.
From 2017 to 2019, while still in Mumbai, Shivaraman worked in private practice and for the Indian Dental Association Head Office. She has two years of academic education experience from her time at the University of British Columbia and, while in Canada, she also gained practice experience with geriatric and cancer patients. She has a soft corner for 3D printing and digital dentistry on which her master’s thesis was based.