Moves in Moos | 2025

Alpdogan Kantarci, DDS, PhD, CAGS, became Chair of the Department of Developmental and Surgical Sciences January 6, 2025. Kantarci is a board-certified specialist in periodontology and a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. His most recent position was as Professor at the ADA Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, MA as the clinical director and active periodontist and implantologist. He assumes the role from Brent Larson, DDS, MS, who served as Interim Chair of the Department of Developmental and Surgical Sciences from 2022-2025. Larson remains professor and director of the Division of Orthodontics.

 Natalie Peterson, DDS, was named Assistant Dean for Patient Care & Clinical Services January 6, 2025. In the role, Peterson provides strategic support to the School of Dentistry’s leadership team and in the implementation of policies and programs. She also serves as a faculty leader for clinical initiatives across the school. Peterson joined the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry as an adjunct assistant professor in 2015 and has since been promoted to clinical associate professor in the Division of Comprehensive Care, serving as Orange Group Leader since 2019. 

Augusto Saldarriaga, DDS, MS, FACP, became director of the Division of Prosthodontics  May 12, 2025, after serving as interim director since 2024. Saldarriaga obtained his DDS from the University of California San Francisco in 2007 and his Certificate in Prosthodontics and Master of Science from the University of Minnesota in 2010. He became a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics in 2017. Saldarriaga is an associate clinical professor in the Division of Prosthodontics and the assistant director of the Predoctoral Prosthodontics Clinic. He is the course director for the predoctoral Removable Partial Denture course. 

Tamanna Tiwari, MPH, MDS, BDS, became Chair of the Department of Primary Dental Care July 1, 2025. Tiwari is an internationally recognized leader in dental public health, with expertise in behavioral sciences, social determinants of health and oral health equity. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Dental Surgery from Bharati Vidyapeeth University in India, and a Master of Public Health in Global Health Leadership from New York University. She previously served as associate professor in the Department of Community Dentistry and Population Health, program director of the DDS/MPH program and associate director of the Center for Oral Disease Prevention and Population Health Research at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. Tiwari takes over the role from Sheila Riggs, DDS, MS, DMSc, who has served as Chair since 2009. Riggs will remain in her faculty role as associate professor of  dental public health and Interim Director of Continuing Dental Education.

Marcia Campos, DDS, MS, PhD, became Associate Dean for Academic Affairs on August 25, 2025.  Campos spent ten years in private practice as general dentist and oral pathologist while teaching and engaging in research in Brazil. As an educator, Campos has supervised predoctoral and graduate students, served in leadership positions related to interprofessional education and implemented programs that support student and faculty mental health and wellbeing. She has researched oral biofilms and oral diseases, especially oral cancer, and has more recently focused her research on cariology, educational research, interprofessional education and practice and holistic wellbeing. She was inducted into the American College of Dentists in 2024 and graduated from the ADEA Leadership Institute, where she was elected class representative, in 2025. She is now a member of the ADEA–LI Board of Alumni Association. Campos takes over the role from  Karl Self, DDS, MBA, who served as Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2022 to 2025. 

Kristin Shingler, PhD, assumed the role of Assistant Dean for Curricular Assessment and Integration, effective July 7, 2025. A teaching associate professor in the Department of  
Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, Shingler previously held the title of Director of Assessment  and Curricular Integration. Shingler received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from  Penn State College of Medicine. She joined the School of Dentistry as a postdoctoral fellow in 2016. Shingler has completed the AHC Teaching in Active Learning Classrooms Fellowship  and the Emerging Technologies Faculty Fellowship Program on GenAI, and has been named Faculty of the Year twice. The elevation of this role from director to Assistant Dean demonstrates the significance of curricular assessment and integration to the School of Dentistry’s long-term educational effectiveness.