College of Public Health Alumna Eleanor Fleming Receives 10 Under 10 Award
Dr. Eleanor Fleming, alumna of the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health’s master of public health program, has been named one of the American Dental Association’s 10 Under 10. The ADA 10 Under 10 Award honors dentistry’s rising stars: dentists who are making an impact on the profession less than 10 years after graduating from dental school. The 2021 winners are driving dentistry forward and inspiring their colleagues through their work in science, research & education, practice excellence, philanthropy, leadership and advocacy.
“It is always an honor to be recognized by one’s peer for a job well done,” said Dr. Fleming. “The career I have created in dental public health is not the typically path that a dentist follows. It is affirming to know that one can take the path less travelled and maintain relevance in the profession.”
An epidemiologist, Dr. Eleanor Fleming is a director at the Center for Educational Development and Support at Meharry Medical College and an Associate Professor in the Department of Dental Public Health in the School of Dentistry. Dr. Fleming graduated from Vanderbilt University earning her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral degrees in political science, respectively in 2000, 2003, 2006.
After learning about oral health disparities from a talk given by former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, in 2006, she began her transition into dentistry and received her D.D.S. with a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Certificate from Meharry Medical College in 2011. After dental school, she completed a two-year applied epidemiology fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer.
Dr. Fleming continued her public health education, graduating with her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology in 2015 from East Tennessee University, completing her dental public health residency at Boston University in 2019, and becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health in 2020.
“When I was an MPH student, Dr. Quinn supported my goal of becoming a board certified public health dentist and encouraged me to do an independent study in oral epidemiology,” continued Dr. Fleming. “That independent study trained me well for my residency and opened up doors for my career. ETSU certainly contributed to the accomplishments that the ADA 10 Under 10 award recognizes.”
Before Dr. Fleming’s current role, she spent nine years working as a dental epidemiologist at CDC as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service with her last assignment being to oversee the Oral Health Component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) at the National Center for Health Statistics.
“To be recognized by your peers is a remarkable achievement,” said Dean Randy Wykoff. “It is especially noteworthy when this recognition happens so early in someone’s career. Dr. Fleming is an outstanding representative of her profession and we are fortunate to count her among our alumni.”
Dr. Fleming presently holds memberships with the American Public Health Association, where she is on the Action Board and a Governing Councilor representing the Oral Health Section, the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, National Dental Association, and American Dental Association.