Murrah Receives Two Honors

Dr. Valerie A. Murrah, professor and chair of the department of diagnostic and general dentistry at the UNC School of Dentistry recently became the first female oral pathologist to be elected a director of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. This appointment puts her in line to eventually serve as president of the organization.

Murrah also has been named a 1999-2000 Elam Fellow. The Elam program is a national program that prepares women faculty for senior leadership positions at academic health centers. She was one of 48 women selected from dental and medical school faculties in the US.

A native of St. Louis, Mo. Murrah joined the UNC faculty in January 1998 and holds appointments in pathology and otolaryngology. Prior to her appointment at UNC, she was a tenured associate professor in the department of pathology at Emory University in Atlanta and was director of the division of oral, head, and neck.

She has been involved in oral cancer basic research since 1990 and was the only dentist in the country to receive the Clinical Oncology Career Development award of the American Cancer Society that year.

Murrah received her dental degree from Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine and a master of science degree in oral pathology from the University of Minnesota. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and a fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.

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