A Compassionate and Selfless Educator
By Jennifer Langham

Dr. Paul K. Chu ’02 can quickly name many people who have mentored him along his career path. His childhood dentist in Houston, who excelled at positive reinforcement, and his orthodontist in San Francisco, who clearly explained the mechanics of braces, were early mentors. His friend and colleague Dr. Parag Kachalia ’01 told Chu he should try a dental internship when Chu was an undergraduate student at University of California, Davis. Dr. Alan Gluskin ’72 and Dr. Nader A. Nadershahi ’94 demonstrated great teaching at the Arthur A. Dugoni School for Dentistry and gave Chu his first teaching opportunities. Chu can cite many more classmates, colleagues and students who have influenced him.
But Chu is emphatic that the real inspiration for his love of pediatric dentistry is his late younger brother Pius, who died at age 17 of muscular dystrophy.
“He just enjoyed so many things in life, especially the San Franciso Giants and the 49ers,” Chu reflects. “I see that energy, that love of life, in all kids, but it’s those kids with special needs who have my heart. Making sure that those patients feel there’s a place that cares for them and makes them feel safe, that’s the passion my brother left with me.”
For the last 20 years, Chu has been in private practice in pediatric dentistry in Rye, New York, and has been program director for the Pediatric Dentistry Residency program at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York. It’s a combination he didn’t anticipate when he moved to New York for his specialty training.
“I was in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program at Columbia, and they said, ‘You seem to be outspoken, so we’re going to have you teach the third- and fourth-year dental students,’” he recalls. Then in Chu’s final year of his pediatric residency at St. Barnabas Hospital, he was asked to take over and lead the program. He laughs now. “I asked if they were desperate, and they said, ‘No, we can tell you just love teaching.’”
As class president in dental school, Chu’s goal was that all his classmates would graduate on time. Marietta Daniel, a recently retired group practice coordinator in the Main Clinic, remembers that she hadn’t seen this kind of cooperation before. “Paul just was so organized finding ways for students who needed certain required procedures, like doing a crown, to switch with students who had already done those procedures, as long as it was okay with the patient and faculty,” she says. The goal was met, and 100% of the class graduated together.
Daniel and Chu have remained close. He was one of the dental school alumni and staff who worked secretly to raise money for the school and surprise Daniel in May 2024 with an event and plaque naming the Marietta Daniel Group Practice Office—the first staff member to be honored in this manner.
I love Dugoni School graduates because they really know how to connect with people.
Chu has been thoughtful like this since dental school, says Dr. Ashish Vashi ’02, his roommate from that time. “Paul is one of the most generous, selfless people I have ever met,” he says. “He is always looking to help others—his mentors, his peers and now his residents.”
Chu credits the collaborative teams at his private practice and the residency program for his ability to juggle work responsibilities, as well as find time to contribute to the community. He is a research reviewer for the journal Pediatric Dentistry, he was recently named the vice chair for the New York State Dental Board and he volunteers at the NYC Shiba Rescue for dogs.
Chu is clear about his overriding aspiration for the future: “I just want to keep taking good care of kids and teaching pediatric dentistry, graduating some of the best pediatric dentists I can. That will be a blessing for me.”
Jennifer Langham is a contributor to Contact Point and other University of the Pacific publications.