Dr. Julia Koo hails from small-town New Jersey, where she spent the majority of her adolescence and young adulthood after her family emigrated from Seoul, Korea in her early teens. From a young age, she took great interest in the wonders of the human body and enjoyed working on science projects in school. To fulfill her intellectual curiosity in the sciences, she attended Dartmouth College, a prestigious Ivy League institution in New Hampshire, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology.
Unable to resist the allure of New York, Dr. Koo returned to her big city roots to obtain her dental doctorate degree from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. Aside from honing her clinical skills as a dentist and enjoying her life in one of the most vibrant cities in the world, Dr. Koo indulged her passion for service while in dental school. She was the founder of the American Association of Public Health Student Chapter at Columbia University and conducted an epidemiologic research project that eventually lead to a publication and garnered numerous student research awards. She also participated in a dental service trip to Guatemala to treat children in the underserved communities in remote mountainous regions of the country.
Following dental school, Dr. Koo headed back to her home state to complete a year of General Practice Residency at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark and three additional years of postgraduate orthodontic residency at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine to become a specialist in orthodontics. During her orthodontic residency, she met her significant other, a Vancouver native and Aura Orthodontics’ very own Dr. Everett Lin and made a decision to move out west to begin their next chapter in life together in beautiful British Columbia.
As a child, Dr. Koo had a complete anterior crossbite, known commonly as an ‘underbite’. Fortunately, her orthodontist intercepted the problem with limited early treatment and she was able to enjoy a functional bite throughout her adolescence. As an adult, she had full metal braces to correct a front tooth that had relapsed into a crossbite and to perfect the alignment of her teeth. As a previous orthodontic patient, once as a child and again as an adult, Dr. Koo understands first-hand the psychological and functional benefits of having an aesthetic smile and proper bite. She strives to be a clinician that listens closely to the patient’s concerns and delivers treatment that caters to each patient’s individual needs.
When Dr. Koo is not in the office treating patients and creating beautiful smiles, she enjoys hiking, reading, Broadway musicals, trying exotic cuisines, stargazing, and travelling. Some of her favourite recent travel destinations include Iceland, Santorini, and a night in the Moroccan Sahara.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, 2009; Hanover, New Hampshire; Dartmouth College
- Doctor of Dental Surgery, 2013; New York, New York; Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
- General Practice Residency Certificate, 2014; Newark, New Jersey; Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
- Orthodontic Specialty Certificate, Master of Dental Science, 2017; Newark, New Jersey; Rutgers School of Dental Medicine