Biography

Dr. Cherry-Peppers returned to her alma mater, Howard University College of Dentistry (HUCD), in 2019. She is a Tenured Associate Professor and Director of Oral Diagnostics and Community Services. She is a retired Captain from the US Public Health Service. Dr. Cherry-Peppers has dedicated her career to improving dental care for poor and minority families and to the promoting health care equality for all Americans. Dr. Cherry-Peppers is an Oral Medicine Specialist and has a Master’s degree.

 Dr. Cherry-Peppers is nationally and internationally recognized for her leadership in reducing oral health disparities, and treatment and management of oral health in individuals with chronic illness.

 Dr. Cherry-Peppers provides leadership as the Director of Oral Diagnosis, Radiology, and community Services. She spear-heads externships and rotations for students to learn about the management of chronically-ill and aging patients. She teaches several courses in the areas of Oral Medicine, Radiology, and Public Health Dentistry, and clinical skill clinics for the pre- and post-doctoral programs. Additionally, she teaches an Internal Medicine course to first-year post-doctoral dental residents.  

Dr. Cherry-Peppers has been the one of the leaders for COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Program at HUCD. She has also spear-headed several Externship Trips and community service opportunities, taking dental students to Jamaica, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia. She is one of the experts in Oral Radiology, and serves on the Howard University Radiation Safety Committee. More than 5,000 patients have been seen by the Howard University students on various rotations. The students have gained valuable patient experiences while addressing the dental needs of many poor communities.

Dr. Cherry-Peppers has led studies and published in areas of research on systemic diseases within high-risk populations and the broader areas dental public health. Her focus is on the oral manifestations of HIV, Cardiovascular Diseases, Sickle Cell Disease, Kidney Disease, Diabetes and Metabolic Syndromes, as well as oral health disparities in poor communities. She is committed to Chronic Disease research on underserved and marginalized populations and she has shown this through her leadership on many Projects and Grants. She has authored numerous publications on the oral manifestations of chronic diseases, to include the Surgeon Generals’ Report on Oral Health 2021, and has co-led several studies on oral health and chronic diseases. Her clinical focus is to provide comprehensive dental care to high risk, and poor populations. She is the recipient of numerous awards to include Achievement and Commendation Medals, Phenomenal Women’s Awards, and the most recent award was the 2022 Distinguished Faculty Award at the Howard University College of Dentistry .