Following a 16-year tenure as Chair at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and being granted Professor Emeritus status at Stony Brook University School of Dentistry, he was recruited as Professor in the Departments of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Pathology and Dermatology within The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he served as the Director of Dental and Oral Medicine within The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has an active clinical practice in Oral Medicine in Towson, MD and has served at The M.J. Dance Head & Neck Center as a clinical consultant and functioned in a didactic capacity with Otolaryngology residents from the Johns Hopkins Otolaryngology program and as a mentor of members of the Head and Neck surgery team.

He has published broadly, with over 225 peer reviewed papers, and abstracts, plus has authored, co-authored and edited seven textbooks, including the Textbook of Oral Pathology. He has lectured worldwide and remains active as a reviewer for several journals and actively serves on several editorial advisory boards. He is a Past President of The American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, was the Oral Pathology Section Editor of “Triple O” and has served for several years on The National Board Testing Commission at the ADA. He is a co-founder of and is the current President of SPOHNC, a large national support group for those with oral and head and neck cancer.

He resides in Pasadena, Maryland with his partner Koleen Stone where he enjoys outdoor gardening, cooking, fishing, and landscape photography.

Dr. Ira B. Lamster received his D.D.S. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1977), his M.M.Sc. from Harvard University (1980) and a Certificate of Special Training in Periodontology from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (1980). Dr. Lamster served as Dean of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine from 2001 to 2012, and Senior Vice President of Columbia University Medical Center from 2006 to 2012. He was on the faculty of the Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, from 2012 to 2017. Dr. Lamster is currently Dean Emeritus, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, a Clinical Professor on the faculty of the Stony Brook University, School of Dental Medicine, and a member of the Santa Fe Group.

Dr. Lamster is the author of more than 200 manuscripts and book chapters. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Dental Journal from 2015 until 2021. Dr. Lamster’s research efforts have focused on diagnostic testing and risk assessment for periodontal disease, the interrelationship of periodontal disease and systemic disease, the oral health care needs of older adults, and the future of dental education and practice.