Ryan Edmunds arrived at dental school with a love of teaching and a desire to teach dentistry. He began asking about everything from how to prepare for a dental faculty career, to faculty compensation, to teaching opportunities in dental school. But he soon found that there were more questions than answers.

Because of his keen interest in teaching dentistry, in 2004 Edmunds was invited to a special meeting at which the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the ADA Foundation and other interested individuals began to address the challenges facing dental education. One positive result of the meeting was establishment of the ADEA Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program, an initiative funded by the ADA Foundation to stimulate innovation in dental faculty development. Edmunds applied and was awarded one of 11 fellowships in 2006.

Now the doors of academic dentistry have opened for Edmunds, and he is awed by the experience. “I’m seeing a side of dentistry that wasn’t easily seen before. I’m teaching lectures where no dental student has ever taught before.” This year, he will graduate and begin his residency in Periodontics. With many of his questions about academic dentistry answered, he sees a clearer path back to the future as a dental school teacher. “I’ll return to academia as soon as I am financially able. And when I come back, I’ll be bringing other people with me.”