Dr. Sean McLaren Named EIOH’s New Chief Quality, Compliance and Safety Officer
Sean McLaren, D.D.S., M.B.A. (GPR ’03, Pedo ’06, MS ’19, MBA ’22) has been named Eastman Institute for Oral Health’s Chief Quality, Compliance and Safety officer and the director of the Office of Quality Improvement and Compliance. He succeeds David Levy, D.M.D. (Pedo ’77, MS ‘81), who will transition to a part-time faculty position and manage special projects.
“Dr. Levy’s leadership and unique skillset and experience in both academia, private practice and public health allowed us to expand the office significantly over the past 11 years he served in this role,” said EIOH Director Eli Eliav, D.M.D., PhD. “Dr. McLaren has the interpersonal and communications skills that will successfully continue what Dr. Levy has established, and build upon the collaborations throughout the medical center and the university.”
Dr. McLaren has served as chair, EIOH Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program since 2015. Cynthia Wong D.M.D., M.S. (Pedo ’13, MS ‘15) will serve as interim chair while continuing her role as the department’s residency program director. She has been effectively managing resident education, resident research and compliance with CODA and University standards since 2017.
“With Dr. Wong’s experience and success as program director, I’m confident the transition to interim chair will be seamless,” Dr. Eliav added.
Dr. McLaren was selected for the position after a national search because of his proven ability to provide strategic leadership while overseeing clinical functions, and his depth of understanding of EIOH and URMC. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing numerous aspects of clinical functions, including quality control and compliance, risk management, environmental health and safety, infection control, records management, as well as other non-clinical functions.
The position also carries the title of Medical Director, in compliance with New York State regulations. He will work closely with URMC leadership, representing EIOH on various URMC committees. In addition, he’ll organize and coordinate research protocol reviews and ensure that mission-critical clinical, research and educational opportunities are reflected in ongoing EIOH policy reviews.
Dr. McLaren is a Rochester native. He graduated from McQuaid Jesuit, Canisius College, earned his dental degree at SUNY Buffalo, and then earned two post-doctoral certificates at EIOH, specializing in hospital-based and pediatric dentistry. In addition to treating patients at Clinton Crossings, Sawgrass Surgical Center, he treats medically compromised patients in the operating room at Strong Memorial Hospital and Golisano Children’s Hospital. Through EIOH, he pioneered Teledentistry services in New York, resulting in significant improvements in access to treatment for children living in rural areas. Since then, he was integral in establishing and chairing EIOH’s Teledentistry Division. Throughout the last five years, Dr. McLaren has served as principal or co-investigator for three multi-million federal grants supporting resident and faculty training, and preventing severe tooth decay among children in underserved communities.
Drs. McLaren and Wong begin their new roles July 1.
Eastman Institute for Oral Health at the University of Rochester Medical Center ranks as one of the preeminent graduate dentistry educational institutions in the world. With nearly 400 faculty and staff, EIOH services occur at multiple locations, training 150 advanced graduate dentists/students in 10 CODA-approved programs. For more than 100 years, EIOH has been a leader in providing oral health care services throughout the region, improving access for many underserved populations, training dentists at the graduate level, and conducting world-class basic, clinical and translational scientific research. EIOH consistently ranks in the top 10 NIH/NIDCR funded dental institutions.
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