Meet Our Faculty

Mohsin Ali
Mohsin Ali
Associate Professor


        Mohsin Ali, BDS, MS, PhD, is associate professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. He has taught prosthodontics internationally and in the U. S. His research interests include the investigation of dental restorative materials.


Hussein Assaf
Hussein Assaf 
Professor


        Hussein Assaf, DDS, is a professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, and the director of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency program. He received his DDS from the Ohio State University in 1993, and a certificate in Advanced Education in General Dentistry from the United States Air Force. Assaf maintains an intramural practice in the greater Cleveland area focusing on implants and all on-X protheses.


Patti Berns
Patti Berns 
Clinical Instructor


        Patti Beckman Berns is a clinical instructor in the Department of Comprehensive Care, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, where she has been involved with both pre-clinical and clinical instruction for the past 30 years. She graduated from the dental school in 1986 and completed her GPR at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland.


Edward D'Alessandro
Edward D'Alessandro
Assistant Professor


        Edward D’Alessandro is a 1974 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, practicing General Dentistry in Cleveland’s western suburbs for 42 years before retiring in 2017. D’Alessandro has served as a preceptor in the School of Dental Medicine from 2001 to the present. His special interests include clinical teaching, restorative dentistry and intra-oral photography.


Maysoun Daoud 
Maysoun Daoud 
Visiting Instructor


        Maysoun Daoud (DEN ‘03) currently serves as clinical preceptor in the Comprehensive Care Department at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. Daoud brings over 28 years of private practice and teaching experience, as well as a diploma in fixed prosthodontics and DDS from the University of Damascus Dental School. She has a passion for teaching dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine.


Gino DiGiannantonio 
Gino DiGiannantonio 
Visiting Instructor


        Gino DiGiannantonio is an experienced dentist with extensive knowledge and advanced training completed at the world renowned Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI) for cosmetic, general and neuromuscular dentistry. Specific interests include aesthetic and cosmetic dental treatment, adhesive and porcelain restorations, complex full mouth reconstruction and treatment for temporal mandibular dysfunction. DiGiannantonio has a private practice located in Woodmere, Ohio.


Cara Fawcett
Cara Fawcett 
Senior Instructor


        Cara Fawcett is a senior instructor in the Comprehensive Care Department, and is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University. Fawcett has more than 37 years of experience and teaches her students a “real world” approach to clinical dentistry.


Paul Grande
Paul Grande
Visiting Instructor


        Paul Savino Grande is a Cleveland native and alumnus of John Carroll University and Case Western Reserve University. Grande has provided public health and general dentistry throughout the greater Cleveland area for over 25 years. He enjoys biking and hiking the expansive nature trails of Northeast Ohio, as well as supporting its art institutions and sports teams.


Roma Jasinevicius
T. Roma Jasinevicius
Associate Professor


        T. Roma Jasinevicius, DDS, MEd, an associate professor in the School of Dental Medicine, has been course director of Dental Anatomy and Masticatory Dynamics since 1988. She served as Interim Chair of the Department of Periodontics from 2017-2021. Her primary research interests are educational methodology. She is active in ADEA, and previously served on committees for National Boards Part I and II.


Denver Jenkins
Denver Jenkins
Instructor


        Denver Jenkins, DDS, is an instructor in the Department of Comprehensive Care. He has worked as a preceptor since 2015 and enjoys working with the students. He is a native Clevelander and graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a BA in 1986 and a DDS in 1990. With 30 years of clinical experience, Jenkins teaches with a practical approach, preparing students for the challenges of contemporary private practice.   


Jay Joseph, DDS
Jay Joseph
Associate Professor


        Jay Joseph, DDS, is an associate professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care. He has been a preceptor since 1994 and has a private practice in Beachwood, Ohio.


Jerry Kolosionek, DDS
Jerry Kolosionek
Senior Instructor


        Jerry Kolosionek graduated from dental school in 1991 and completed a General Practice Residency at the Cleveland VA Hospital. He was in practice in Medina for 25 years and joined the School of Dental Medicine faculty in 2008. Kolosionek also holds a Mastership in the Academy of General Dentistry. 


Thaddeus Mandato
Thaddeus Mandato
Visiting Instructor


        Thaddeus Mandato, DDS, is a native of Cleveland who attended CWRU Adelbert College (CWR '72) and is a graduate of the School of Dental Medicine (DEN '76). He was a clinical instructor of Operative Dentistry from 1976 to 1979 and practiced general dentistry in Fairview Park from 1976 to 2022. He recently joined the team of preceptors in the Department of Comprehensive Care in March of 2023 and hopes to impart his 46 years of experience to the students in the clinic.


Tania Markarian
Tania Markarian
Assistant Professor


        Tania Z. Markarian, DDS, MSM, is an assistant professor and diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. She obtained her Master of Science in Management with emphasis in Healthcare from the Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management and is currently pursuing a certificate in Leadership Development from the school. She is chief of the Dental Division at Akron Children’s Hospital. Markarian also directs the first-year Operative Dentistry course.


Mario Pavicic
Mario Pavicic 
Adjunct Assistant Professor


        Mario Pavicic has been a professionally trained coach, investment advisor and private practice owner for 30 years. He teaches young dental minds the skills of the business of dentistry.


Scott Pelok
Scott Pelok 
Associate Professor


        Scott Pelok graduated from The Ohio State University School of Dentistry in 1994. He completed a one-year residency in Advanced Education for General Dentistry at University of Michigan in 1995 and received his fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry in 2010. Pelok also has a master’s degree in biology with emphasis in anatomy from Bowling Green State University. He has practiced conscious sedation for extractions and implants for over 25 years, and has been using CAD/CAM technology for crown and implant design for 30 years.


Jay Resnick
Jay Resnick
Associate Professor


        Jay Resnick is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Dentistry (cum laude) in 1972.  He spent 45 years in clinical practice before joining the faculty of the School of Dental Medicine.  His field of interest is biomimetic or tooth-conserving dentistry. 


Lawrence Rossoff
Lawrence Rossoff
Assistant Professor


        Lawrence P. Rossoff, DDS, FICD, FACD, is associate professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care. He serves as preceptor, infection control officer, coordinator of quality assurance curriculum and consultant to the director of patient services. With his experience in ethics, regulation and quality assurance, his teaching focus is watching his students succeed while keeping students and patients safe.


James Schneider
James Schneider 
Senior Instructor


        James C. Schneider, DDS, MAGD, is a general and forensic dentist and a graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine (DEN ’85). Schneider has been married to his wife, Tina, since 1985 and they have two adult children, James and Sara, and one granddaughter, Ruth. Schneider currently resides and has a private practice in Olmsted Falls. His favorite thing to do is simply enjoy life.


Eric Smith
Eric Smith 
Instructor


        Eric Smith is an instructor in the School of Dental Medicine. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 1978, and practiced for 43 years in Cleveland. He has taught at Case Western Reserve University as a preceptor for 6 years.


Ray Malcolm Taylor
Ray Malcolm Taylor, Jr.
Senior Visiting Instructor


        Ray Malcolm Taylor, Jr., is a 1992 graduate of CWRU School of Dental Medicine. He practiced general dentistry for 28 years and is a past president of the Alumni Board. He currently sits on the Dean's Visiting Committee.


Ibrahim Tulunoglu
Ibrahim Tulunoglu 
Associate Professor


        Ibrahim Tulunoglu, DDS, PhD, is a prosthodontist and tenured associate professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. He has more than 50 publications in peer reviewed journals on various subjects of prosthodontics, including dental materials, implantology and removable and fixed prosthodontics.


Russell Wang
Russell Wang 
Professor


        Russell Wang is a full professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. Actively engaged in research, he has a record of funding from industry, foundations and NIH in the areas of biomaterials, biosensors, dental implants, jawbone reconstruction, 3D printing, 3D modeling and  biomechanics. He has published many scientific papers in dental, medical and engineering journals.


Carole Wehbe
Carole Wehbe
Visiting Instructor


        Carole Wehbe, DDS, is a dedicated general dentist based in Cleveland, Ohio. Wehbe earned her doctorate of dental surgery from the Lebanese University, School of Dental Medicine in 2013 and has been in practice ever since. Wehbe has also completed two years of general practice residency at MetroHealth Medical center, to further specialize in medically complex patients and complex dental cases.


Hany Zakhary
Hany Zakhary 
Instructor


        Hany Zakhary is an attending faculty in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program. He is also a course director for Restorative Dentistry in the Department of Comprehensive Care in the School of Dental Medicine.