Christian S. Stohler, an accomplished medical researcher and the dean of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, has been named dean of Columbia’s College of Dental Medicine and senior vice president of Columbia University Medical Center, effective August 1.
Stohler, who earned doctoral degrees in dental medicine and in hematology from the University of Bern, in Switzerland, is an expert on pain management and on jaw ailments such as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and related muscle disorders.
As the dean of the University of Maryland’s dental school since 2003, Stohler has overseen a period of growth that has made Maryland’s the largest public dental school in the US. He has also led a curriculum update, overhauled the school’s business operations, fostered faculty entrepreneurship, and expanded the school’s global presence.
Before joining Maryland, Stohler spent more than twenty years at the University of Michigan, where he was a professor in its dental school’s department of biologic and materials sciences. He also served as the chair of that department and as the school’s director of research.
“I am delighted to join Columbia University,” said Stohler. “The bold leadership at the University, including from President Lee C. Bollinger, whom I know from my time at Michigan; the pervasive and unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation at the College of Dental Medicine; and the impressive esprit de corps among the faculty, which includes world-class clinicians — all of this makes Columbia a dream opportunity for me.”
