Jane A. Weintraub, DDS, MPH

About

Dr. Jane A. Weintraub, former dean at the UNC School of Dentistry, is widely recognized for her expertise in oral epidemiology, dental public health and clinical research. She is a leader in research to understand and prevent oral health disparities.

Dr. Weintraub earned her D.D.S. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine in 1979. She received her graduate training in public health and dental care administration from Harvard University and practiced dentistry in neighborhood health centers in Boston, Mass. In 1982, Dr. Weintraub began her career in academia at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, followed by several years at the University of Michigan.

In 1988, Dr. Weintraub began her first appointment with the UNC School of Dentistry as an assistant professor in the Department of Dental Ecology. After seven years with UNC, Dr. Weintraub received an appointment at the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry as the recipient of the school's first endowed chair, becoming the Lee Hysan Professor of Dental Public Health and Oral Epidemiology. She served as the principal investigator and director of the Center to Address Disparities in Children’s Oral Health, also known as CAN DO. The center focuses on preventing early childhood caries, a condition that is difficult and expensive to treat. She also served the UCSF School of Dentistry as the chair of the oral epidemiology and dental public health division in the school's preventive and restorative dental sciences department until her departure. 

Dr. Weintraub returned to UNC in 2011 to serve as dean of the School of Dentistry. During her tenure, the school’s research funding increased 50% and moved up from #7 to the #2 ranking among dental schools in research funding from the NIH/National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research. The number of applications to the school’s DDS program increased 32%.

Dr. Weintraub's focus and research in public health dentistry has helped shape scientific guidelines regarding sealants and fluoride that have become a part of mainstream dental and public health practices. She is a past president of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry and the International Association of Dental Research's behavioral sciences and health services research group. She was one of the scientific editors and contributing authors for the first Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health.

Honors and Awards

H. Trendley Dean Distinguished Scientist Award
2009, International Association of Dental Research

Norton M. Ross Award for Excellence in Clinical Research
2010, American Dental Association

Education