Focus on Diagnostic Sciences

Dr. Cordell Named Department Chair
This spring, after a national search, Kitrina Cordell, DDS, MS, was named chair of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences; she had been interim chair since Diagnostic Sciences became a separate department in 2014. Dr. Cordell received her DDS and MS in oral and maxillofacial pathology from The Ohio State University. For eight years, until joining LSUSD in 2010, she was on the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry where she directed the Oral Pathology Biopsy Service. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.

Dr. Cordell sees patients in the LSUSD Faculty Dental Practice who have been referred for oral pathology concerns. She also teaches dental, dental hygiene, and advanced education students in multiple courses, and with Dr. Molly Rosebush, she operates the Oral Pathology Biopsy Service.

Drs. Giulio Fortuna, Kitrina Cordell and Christopher Spencer

Drs. Spencer and Fortuna Join Department in 2016
Christopher Spencer, DDS, who joined LSUSD in January, is the newest faculty member in the specialty of orofacial pain and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). He received his DDS from the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in 1978. In 2003, after 30 years in private practice, he entered a two-year fellowship at the University of Florida College of Dentistry Parker E. Mahan Facial Pain Center and then served as the Center's clinic director from 2006-2008. At the University of Florida, he taught in the departments of orthodontics, prosthodontics, and restorative dentistry.

Dr. Spencer treats patients with orofacial pain and TMD in LSUSD Faculty Dental Practice. He teaches in several didactic and clinical courses, including Advanced Head and Neck Anatomy for third-year dental students. In addition, Dr. Spencer is a faculty member in the Orofacial Pain Continuum, a five-session interactive course offered through LSU Health Continuing Dental Education.

Giulio Fortuna, DMD, PhD, the newest faculty member in the department, adds his extensive knowledge of oral medicine to the strengths of existing faculty. He is the only dentist in Louisiana with expertise in the discipline. A native of Naples, Italy, Dr. Fortuna received his dental degree from the Second University of Naples in 2005 and his PhD in oral science from the Federico II University of Naples in 2011. After a year at Stanford University in California as a visiting PhD student in the Department of Dermatology concentrating on epidermolysis bullosa, Dr. Fortuna attended the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he completed a general practice residency in 2013 followed by a residency in oral medicine in 2015. He is editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Oral Medicine.

Dr. Fortuna sees patients in Faculty Dental Practice for diagnosis and management of non-tooth-related conditions affecting the oral and maxillofacial region including, but not limited to, autoimmune diseases, potentially malignant oral disorders, oral manifestations of systemic diseases, and salivary gland disorders. He also provides oro-dental evaluation of head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation and chemotherapy. Dr. Fortuna will be involved in didactic and clinical oral medicine education for both undergraduate and advanced education students.

AGD Grant Awarded to Dr. Cordell 
LSUSD is dedicated to increasing public awareness about oral cancer to improve early detection and to decrease morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. To further this goal, Dr. Cordell recently secured a grant of $5,000 from the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) Foundation to develop a formal schoolwide self oral cancer screening (SOCS) educational program for patients. The grant includes a one-on-one educational session with a faculty member, resident, or student as well as printed information and access to online educational tools to strengthen SOCS patient compliance. Once the program is developed and tested, it will be made available to other dental professionals.