Quarterly I am an MUSC Innovator Award winner recognized

The MUSC Office of Innovation is proud to announce Fabio Rizzante, D.D.S., Ph.D., as this quarter’s recipient of the I am an MUSC Innovator Award. Sponsored by the Office of Innovation, the I am an MUSC Innovator campaign is designed to raise awareness of the many forms that innovation can take in an effort to inspire others and to recognize individuals or teams publicly that are making impacts.

Rizzante, an associate professor and director of Research in the College of Dental Medicine, was nominated for his work creating two digital dentistry courses, including an elective course that bridges the gap between students’ knowledge in dentistry and the resources already available in a clinic. 

 

“Talking to the students and to other colleagues right in the department, one of the common things that came from those conversations were we could probably take more advantage of all those technologies and all the equipment that we have available,” said Rizzante. “What I heard from faculty members was these students don't have any instruction about how to use those machines. So, when they come to the clinic, a lot of times, they simply don't know.”

Knowing his pain point, Rizzante looked for an innovative solution and quickly designed a course that ultimately could further embed digital dentistry into the College of Dental Medicine’s curriculum. Today, the course has grown to accommodate 30 students in just its second semester and has started a process where students who are taking the course will organize a few extra sessions to teach their peers finishing year three or four, on a volunteer basis.

Each quarter, the I am an MUSC Innovator campaign showcases educators, researchers, care team members and service team members enterprisewide who have been nominated for the impact they have made in the area of innovation.

Nominations are solicited by and submitted to the chief innovation officer and evaluated based on the merits of the innovation, including potential impact and unique factors that contributed to the innovation. Nominations are solicited on a quarterly basis but may be submitted for consideration at any time.

Do you know a person or a team that should be recognized? Fill out and submit this nomination form.

Award criteria

To be eligible for the I am an MUSC Innovator campaign, the individual or team must be:
•Employed by MUSC or attend MUSC as a student.
•Acknowledged within the organization for the creation of an idea, product or process that can solve a problem or create a new opportunity.
•Recognized as collaborative, respectful, adaptive to change and committed to quality care.