Author

Colonya C. Calhoun-Burns

About Colonya C. Calhoun-Burns

Dr. Colonya C. Calhoun’s, leadership experience began while in dental school at the University of Michigan.  As a Student National Dental Society member, she rose through the ranks as secretary, vice president and eventually president.  As president, she developed and expanded the available study guide material.  She also advocated for inclusivity of not only African American Students but also other students who were concerned about issues that the black and brown communities faced in becoming healthcare providers and consumers.

After completing dental school, Dr. Calhoun pursued her residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Martin Luther King/Charles R. Drew University (program now sponsored by Harbor-UCLA Medical Center). While is residency, Dr. Calhoun decided to pursue a career in academics which led her to obtain a PhD in University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry.

Early in her academic career, Dr. Calhoun volunteer to lead journal club for the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at Martin Luther King/Charles R. Drew University.  Her initiative was recognized by the department chair which lead to her appointment at the Director of Dental Research. 

Dr. Calhoun also increased her involvement in the residency curriculum which led her to be promoted to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Training Program Director at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and two year later as the Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery/Hospital Dentistry and Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.  In addition she holds an Assistant Professor, Clinical Series appointment at Charles R. Drew University and Lecturer position in the Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry.

Eventually, Dr. Calhoun decided to pivot her leadership skills to focus on Oral Health and Overall Health.  She started a consulting firm, Integrative Dentistry Solutions which focuses on integrating dentistry in healthcare systems.  In addition, Dr. Calhoun holds a part-time position at the University of Michigan, School of Dentistry as Adjunctive Associate Clinical Professor where she teaches residents and students in outpatient oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Service

Dr. Calhoun was the co-founder of the annual Harbor UCLA Children’s Health Fair in collaboration with many stakeholders including local politicians.  Dr. Calhoun has also lead and participated in many health fairs including the Faith Community Church Annual Health Fair in San Gabriel Valley California.  More recently, Dr. Calhoun also serves on the Victorious Believers Ministries Hydroponics Planning and Steering Committee.  The goal of this committee is to establish a community hydroponic garden that will feed and provide jobs for a local community in Saginaw Michigan.

For many years, Dr. Calhoun served as a general anesthesia and conscious sedation evaluator for the Dental Board of California. She also serves as advisor for the UCLA Hospital Dentistry Interest Group and mentors’ students at all levels of education for medical/dental careers. Dr. Calhoun is also the founder of the CCI STEM Award as well as the CBEM Young Women Entrepreneurs Award. Dr. Calhoun also served on the Advisory Board, Biomedical Careers Academy (BCA) at Lawndale High School Lawndale, California

Publications

Research Papers - Peer Reviewed

  1. Steinberg B, Nelson VS, Feinberg SE, Calhoun CC: Incidence of Maxillofacial Involvement in Arthrogryposis Multiplex Cogenita, J Oral Maxillofac Surg 54:956-959, 1996
  2. Calhoun C, Cardenes O, Ducksworth J, Le A. Topical Becaplermin Gel (Recombinant Platelet Derived Growth Factor-BB) for the Treatment of Mucosal Defect after Cortical Cancellous Bone Graft: A Case Report and Review of the Literature, J Oral Maxillofac Surg 67:2516-2520, 2009
  3. Calhoun C, Song J, Lu Y, Chiu R: Knockdown endogenous CypA with siRNA in U2OS cells results in disruption of F-actin structure and alters tumor phenotype. Mol Cell Biochem. 2009 Jan;320(1-2):35-43.
  4. Chia YC, Rajbanshi R, Calhoun C*, Chiu RH. Anti-neoplastic effects of gallic acid, a major component of Toona sinensis leaf extract, on oral squamous carcinoma cells. Molecules. 2010 Nov 16;15(11):8377-89.*Served as direct supervisor during research design and initial manuscripts.
  5. Robinson AA, Tolentino LF, Uyanne J, Melrose R, Calhoun CC. Malignant epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the lip: a case report and comprehensive literature review. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2014 Apr;72(4):695-701. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2013.09.027. Epub 2013 Nov 20.
  6. Jacob Agatstein, Veronica Gonzalez, Allen A. Robinson and Colonya C. Calhoun. A Pilot Study: The Effectiveness of Augmenting Alveolar Bone Defects with Bone Marrow Aspirate Impregnated Allogeneic Graft. J Dental Sci 2022, 7(3): 000345
  7. Lamberton T, de Virgilio C, Terrell J, Moazzez A, Combs K, Nafday R, Salazar D, Yazdany T, Calhoun C, and Yetasook A. Music in the Operating Room: Comparing the Opinions of Surgeons, Anesthesiologists, and Nurses. Am Surg. 2022 Nov 30;31348221142578.

Research Papers - Peer Reviewed (Submitted)

  1. Fawzia Bardag Gorce; Mais Al Dahan; Kavita Narwani; Colonya Calhoun; Jettie Uyanne; Jun Royce-Flores; Eric Crum; Yutaka Niihara. Oral mucosa epithelium derived neural crest stem cells. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.

Papers In Preparation (Research Completed)

  1. Calhoun, C. Cyclosporin A Posttranscriptionally Downregulates MMP-1 in Human Gingival Fibroblasts.
  2. Cannon D, Johnson J, Cho A, Bardag-Gorce F, Uyanne J and Calhoun CC. Treatment of Lateral defects using Trinity Elite. In prep for submission J Oral Maxillofac Surg.
  3. Royce-Flores J, Bardag-Gorce F, Calhoun C. COVID-19 Transmission Rate in Patients Seen at a County Hospital Dental Clinic.
  4. Grier RO, Navarez T, Sifuentes, M, Yeh S, Harrington D, Calhoun CC. The Impact of Celebrating Diversity on Resident Recruitment at an Academic Public Hosptial.
  5. Calhoun C, Burris B, Messadi D, Le AD. An Analysis of Telehealth Coverage for Oral Health Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic at Los Angeles County Public Hospital.

Books

  1. Calhoun C. (2022) Dr. C’s Op-Notes for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residents. (1st ed.). Colonya C. Calhoun DDS, PhD.
  2. Calhoun C. (2022) Grier R., and Flores, JR. Oral Health IS HEALTH Principles and Practices of Dentistry in a Hospital Setting. (1st ed.). Calhoun Publishing.

Book Chapters

Calhoun, C., Crum, E. Burris, B. Dental and Alveolar Fractures. Peterson’s Principles of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery “Part 3: Maxillofacial Trauma”

Books (In Press)

  1. Calhoun C. Dr. C’s (2022) Written Qualifying Board Prep for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residents. (1st ed.). Calhoun Publishing
  2. Calhoun C. Dr. C’s Oral Certifying Board Prep for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residents. (1st ed.). Calhoun Publishing
  3. Calhoun C., Flores, JR., and Grier R. Periodontal Disease, The Organ Invader: A Physicians Guide To Oral Heath.

Letters to The Editor

  1. Calhoun, Colonya. “Reply to Letter to the Editor “Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Volume 0, Issue 0.
  2. Uyanne J, Calhoun CC, Le AD. Antiresorptive drug-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. Dent Clin North Am. 2014 Apr;58(2):369-84. doi: 10.1016/j.cden.2013.12.006. Review.

Editorials

  1. Colonya C. Calhoun, “So you think white privilege is a myth”. J Oral Maxillofac Surg, Publish October 2020.
  2. Colonya C. Calhoun DDS, PhD and Ryan O. Grier DDS, MBA. Perspectives: Intersectionality – Role Modeling Leadership Across Identities – A Black Female PhD Oral Surgeon Speaks. J Am Col Dent 2021; 88 (3): 29 – 31.

Abstracts

  1. Liu, X.; Calhoun, C.; Nishitani, J.; Qin, M.; McQuirter, J.; Park, N. -H. American Association for Cancer Research. (90th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA April 10-14, 1999). Identification and characterization of molecular marker genes for HPV-induced oral cancer. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, March 1999. 40 447.
  2. Qin, Min; Zha, Junli; Nishitani, Junko; Calhoun, Colonya; Chen, Hongying; McQuirter, Joseph; Park, No-Hee; Liu, Xuan; Drew, Charles R. (91st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. San Francisco, California, USA April 01-05, 2000). Identification of differentially expressed genes associated with the immortalization of normal human oral keratinocytes. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, March 2000. (41): 317.
  3. Nishitani, J., Zha, J., Qin, M., Calhoun, C., Chen, H., McQuirter, J. L., Gowans, R., Park, N. -H. and Liu, X. 2000.  Identification of differentially expressed genes associated with the immortalization of normal human oral keratinocytes. 78th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research. Abstract #767.
  4. Colonya C. Calhoun, DDS, Leathers R, Black E, McQuirter J, Le A. Regulation of VEGF Expression in Keloids. Oral Abstract Session 6 Wound Repair/Cosmetic Surgery. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Volume 58, Issue 8, 45 – 48.
  5. Colonya C. Calhoun, DDS, H.S. Duong; D.V. Messadi, DDS, MS; E. Black, DDS; R.D. Leathers, DDS; J. McQuirter, DDS; R. Chiu, PhD; A.D. Le, DDS, PhD. Suppression of MMP-1 Levels in Cyclosporin-Induced Gingival Hyperplasia.) Oral Abstract Session 8 on Pathology and Medicine/Miscellaneous. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Volume 59, Issue 8, 52 – 57A. J. Collins, K. Narwani, C. C. Calhoun, D. Cortez, L. Fulay, W. Hawkins, D. Cannon, F. Gorce, N. Yutaka. Cell Sheet Technology for Corneal Surface Reconstruction. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Volume 78, Issue 10, e85.

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