Rate My Professor Lina Maria Moreno Uribe

Lina Maria Moreno Uribe, DDS, PhD, serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Orthodontics within the Dentistry faculty at The University of Iowa. Hailing from Medellín, Colombia, she obtained her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from the Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud CES in 1991. She completed her initial orthodontic residency at the University of Antioquia in 1995 and subsequently practiced orthodontics for three years at the CES University Clinic. In 1998, Dr. Moreno Uribe pursued advanced graduate studies at The University of Iowa, earning a PhD in Oral Sciences with a concentration in Human Genetics in 2004. Following her doctoral degree, she undertook postdoctoral training until 2006 and then completed a second orthodontic residency at the University of Iowa.

Upon completing her orthodontic training, Dr. Moreno Uribe joined the University of Iowa College of Dentistry as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthodontics in 2008. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016. In March 2022, she was appointed Department Executive Officer (DEO) of Orthodontics, serving in leadership roles including interim department head until 2026. In August 2024, she was named the B.F. and Helen E. Dewel Chair in Clinical Orthodontics for a five-year term. Her research specializations include the genetics of dentofacial variation, malocclusion phenotypes, and craniofacial morphology, with contributions to studies on Class III malocclusion and Class II treatment modalities. Key publications encompass "Phenotypic diversity in white adults with moderate to severe Class III malocclusion" (American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, 2014), "Genetics of the dentofacial variation in human malocclusion" (Orthodontics & Craniofacial Research, 2015), "An evidence-based comparison of headgear and functional appliance therapy for the correction of Class II malocclusions" (Seminars in Orthodontics, 2013), and "Patterns of morphological integration in the dentition of Australopithecus africanus" (The Anatomical Record, 2016). Among her honors, she received the Willie and Earl Shepherd Fellowship Award from the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation, recognized as the most meritorious Orthodontic Faculty Development Award Fellowship. Dr. Moreno Uribe teaches graduate-level orthodontic courses such as ORDN 5209 and ORDN 5211, supervises student research in craniofacial genetics, practices as an orthodontist at UI Health Care and Stead Family Children's Hospital, and holds affiliations with the Dows Institute for Dental Research and the Hawkeye Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center.