Dr. Sreenivas Koka Named Dean of University of Mississippi Medical Center SOD

Sreenivas “Sree” Koka, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., M.B.A., FACD, has been named the new Dean of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry (UMMC SOD), effective April 5, 2021. Dr. Koka will accept the reins from Scott Phillips, D.M.D., Associate Professor of Dentistry and Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs, who is serving as Interim Dean of the school. 

A native of Romford, Essex, United Kingdom, Dr. Koka received his D.D.S. and M.S. in Prosthodontics from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, his M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management and his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska. He had his postdoctoral research fellowship in signal transduction at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

As Dean of UMMC SOD, Dr. Koka will be responsible for the overarching management of the school’s education, service and research operations, ensuring that all of the school’s activities align with institutional mission areas and comply with institutional and Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning policies. His duties will also include maintaining educational accreditation for degree-seeking and postgraduate training programs and managing faculty clinical practice, financial sustainability and strategic planning for the school. Additionally, he will serve as the managing authority for faculty and staff and the ultimate authority for academic issues in the school, except as outlined in UMMC policy. 

A diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics and a fellow of the American College of Dentists and the Academy of Prosthodontics, Dr. Koka has received numerous Outstanding Teacher of the Year awards and the Margaret L. A. MacVicar Award from the MIT Alumni Association. He has given more than 180 invited presentations at national and international dentistry meetings and is the author or coauthor of 105 articles in peer-reviewed professional publications, nine book chapters and 31 abstracts. An active member of the American Association of Dental Research, the American Dental Education Association, the International Association of Dental Research and the International College of Prosthodontists, Dr. Koka’s completed grant and contract support has exceeded $10 million.

Courtesy of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry

Published on February 10, 2021