2017 McClinton Outstanding Faculty Staff Award
Jennifer Y. Webster-Cyriaque ’98 (Ph.D)
Professor, School of Dentistry, The University of North Carolina
Durham, NC
Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque is Professor of Dental Ecology, School of Dentistry, and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine. She directs the Viral Oral Infections in Immunosuppression and Cancer (VOIICe) program. She is a leader in oral virology and has published over 50 articles. She is a founding member of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) Diversity Task Force and of the National Dental Association (NDA) Research executive committee. She has received awards for contributions to research and education including the Infectious Disease Society of America Gertrude Elion Award, National Dental Association (NDA) Colgate Palmolive Faculty Research Award and Old North State Overall Outstanding Achievement Award.
Jennifer has served on many university committees, working with and for students at every level (high school to postdoctoral). She is advisor for the Undergraduate Student NDA, a group interested in both dentistry and in serving communities of color. She attends monthly at the Student National Dental Association CAARE clinic in Durham and helped spearhead the UNC Dental Malawi project, sending students to Africa since 2004. She is one of few basic scientist/clinician scientists of color. She was awarded Mentor of the Year Award from UNC Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity for Ph.D. mentorship in the biomedical sciences.
An official citation will be posted after the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship Awards Gala on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017.