Dr. Anastasia Kelekis-Cholakis reappointed dean of Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry
Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, is pleased to announce that Dr. Anastasia Kelekis-Cholakis has been reappointed dean, Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, effective July 1, 2024 for a five-year term.
Dr. Kelekis-Cholakis obtained her bachelor of arts degree (Gold Medal) at the University of Winnipeg in 1988 and received her doctor of dental medicine degree in 1992, followed by her diploma in periodontics in 1998.
Dr. Kelekis-Cholakis started teaching as a part-time pre-clinical lab instructor in 1993 at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry and has since held several positions – including clinical instructor, lecturer and clinic manager of the Dr. Sam Borden Graduate Periodontal Clinic.
While transitioning to full-time academia in 2010, after 12 years of private practice, Dr. Kelekis-Cholakis served as acting and then program director of the Graduate Periodontal Program from 2010 to 2022. Since becoming a full-time academic, Dr. Kelekis-Cholakis has strived to include innovative teaching methods and technologies in the curriculum.
Throughout her academic career, Dr. Kelekis-Cholakis developed expertise in peri-implant diseases and dental implant maintenance. She has been invited to lecture nationally and internationally and has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals, and edited and co-authored a book on peri-implant diseases and complications.
Highlights of Dr. Kelekis-Cholakis’ first term as dean, which began in 2019, include the transition to full electronic health records at the dental school, managing education and training of learners over the pandemic and the re-opening of college clinical facilities and their continued operation with revised infection control protocols and equipment. In addition, she has been involved in the creation of the college’s strategic plan and the launch of a comprehensive curriculum review. She appointed an equity, access and participation lead in the college and is assisting in the development and design of architectural plans for new clinical facilities.
She is currently leading a campaign to raise $10 million to equip state-of-the-art dental clinics in a new building that’s planned for the Bannatyne campus.
Dr. Kelekis-Cholakis started private practice as a general dentist in 1992. After the completion of her specialty training in 1998, she founded the Southwest Specialty Group, an interdisciplinary dental practice that was one of the first in Canada to house a variety of dental specialists in one practice. To this day, she is still practicing as a periodontist weekly at the Southwest Specialty Group.