Monil Mehta, a Baker Scholar and in the Chancellor’s Honors program, received the Torchbearer Award, the highest award given to undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee. Monil is majoring in Microbiology but completing his Baker Scholar’s thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Erwin, Professor and Head of the Department of Public Health. Monil’s project is exploring the attitudes and opinions of Tennessee dentists on the Dental Therapy Workforce Model, a model that describes a “mid-level” dental provider for the purpose of expanding access to, and reducing the cost of, oral health care in the United States. Monil will graduate in May and will be attending dental school at the University of Pittsburgh.
Photo: Monil Mehta, 5th from the left, receiving the Torchbearer Award from Chancellor Davenport