on building issues, but during the time when i was fighting cancer.” chapa worked closely with dr. graham “in creating the initial plan for the huge hvac [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] project. a lot that i requested to improve the building was accepted and approved. “i feel proud of all my accomplishments,” chapa said. “my only regret is not finishing the hvac project,” which was stopped due to a lack of state budget. no dean, however, approved the proposed construction of “a recreational penthouse on the roof for my crew and me,” chapa said, laughing. instead, chapa’s office is in the basement, where a huge mound of dirt left from the 1972 construction of the building still is located. “for years, nobody knew where my office was,” chapa said. “when people wanted to come see me i would tell them my office was up and over a 30-foot pile of dirt. it was funny—when they did come down, nobody wanted to climb that hill.” in retirement, chapa plans on traveling. “i have family in mississippi, texas, california, and mexico,” he said. “for sure, my plan is to never spend another winter here. “i have not made up my mind yet to settle down in southeast texas or mexico,” chapa mused. “i need more time to explore those areas. wherever i settle will have to be by the beach. i love fishing, boating, and scuba diving.” chapa will also spend more time with family. son anthony is 34, and daughter vanessa is 30. in looking back at his years at the college, chapa concluded, “everyone was very cooperative, and i appreciated that. i want to thank everyone at the college for all their support. i will miss them all.” “the college has benefitted over the years as a result of fred’s oversight of the operations of the facility and physical plant, which is quite a responsibility,” said dr. susan rowan, associate dean for clinical affairs. “with 18 patient and pre-patient care clinics, as well as laboratories, administrative and faculty offices, lecture halls, and classrooms, fred has managed the building and directed the facilities team extremely well. “in the face of an interrupted hvac project, electrical, heating, plumbing, fire alarm, and flooding issues, fred has ensured that student education, patient care, and research projects have been well-supported,” she concluded. aaof provides research award for bone regeneration the american association of orthodontics foundation has provided a research aid award of $5,000 for a project at the college, “characterization of a biomimetically enhanced bio-oss for bone regeneration applications.” dr. xuanyu lu, graduate clinical assistant, orthodontics, is leading the research. dr. lu’s research supervisor is dr. sriram ravindran, assistant professor, oral biology. dr. praveen gajendrareddy, associate professor, periodontics, also is collaborating. “this project is using a biomimetic approach via human bone marrow stem cells to modify the current most commonly used bone grafting material, anorganic bone matrix— bio-oss,” dr. lu said. “we plan to characterize the bio-oss coated with 3-d pro-osteogenic extracellular matrix [ecm] by a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments.” the team plans on generating and characterizing the biomemetically enhanced (be) bio-oss in vitro. following an in vivo experiment, the team will examine the be bio-oss by using a rat critical-size calvarial defect model. the regeneration rate and quality of new bone will be evaluated by micro-ct and histology. dr. xuanyu lu. “we are expecting that be bio-oss could promote greater cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and eventually promote bone healing and better bone quality,” dr. lu said. the current “gold standard” of treatment for cleft lip and palate is autografting of bone harvest from the iliac crest or ribs, “which has several major limitations,” dr. lu said. “so the tissue engineering is an alternative approach. our biomimetic strategies could impart osteoinductivity into bio-oss partials to augment bone regeneration potentials ultimately to benefit those congenital critical bone defect patients.” dr. lu expressed gratitude to his mentors, dr. xianghong luan, associate professor, oral biology, and former faculty dr. thomas diekwisch and dr. carla evans, for their help “during my eight year journey in the college of dentistry since 2009, during which i received my phd in oral sciences.” he currently is in the orthodontic specialty program. the aaof award “will also allow me to strengthen my research background, which is vital for me to achieve my career goal of becoming an independent investigator and hopefully an outstanding educator in orthodontics in the future,” dr. lu concluded. vivaldi clinic open; dr. fatemeh afshari is managing partner the college has opened its fifth group practice, the vivaldi clinic, in room 329—the most recently renovated clinic in the college. dr. fatemeh afshari, clinical associate professor, restorative dentistry is the managing partner. after earning her dmd from the harvard school of dental medicine, dr. afshari earned her certificate in prosthodontics and her ms in oral sciences from the uic college of dentistry in 2009. she then joined august 2017 word of mouth 7