Inspiration and achievement were hallmarks of the School of Dentistry's 14th Research and Clinical Excellence Day. Students and faculty filled Cole Hall and Millberry Union Gym for the Oct. 13 event.
"Once again, I was inspired and energized by Research and Clinical Excellence Day," said Michael McMaster, PhD, committee chair. "The School of Dentistry community coming together for this special day, to celebrate our accomplishments and commitment to excellence in patient care, discovery and education, is something we should all be proud of."
Plenary speaker Carol Summerhays, DDS, president of the American Dental Association, spoke on "What It Means to Be America's Leading Advocate for Oral Health." The Spotlight on Clinical Excellence featured Chirag Patel, DMD, MD, discussing "Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the Information Age: Two Case Presentations."
Mark Kirkland, DDS, was honored as Clinician of the Year at Research and Clinical Excellence Day.
The Clinician of the Year award went to Mark Kirkland, DDS, associate dean for clinical affairs and director of the International Dentist Program. His speech focused on "My Journey." Richard Schneider, PhD, was named Mentor of the Year.
Morning and afternoon oral presentations were moderated by Andrew Jheon, DDS, PhD, and Vagan Tapaltsyan, DDS, PhD. Presenters included Raymond Lee, Bronwyn Hagan, Tiffany Han, Taranvir Cheema, Alex Romash, Arvin Pal, Rebecca Kim and Grace Zhu.
Award Categories and Winners
Research Associate
Ace Lewis (Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Bush)
Title: Ephrin-B2 functions at the interface between dorsoventral patterning and morphogenesis in tracheoesophageal separation.
Postdoctoral Category
Audrey O’Neill (Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Bush)
Title: Unidirectional Eph/ephrin signaling drives pathological cell sorting by generation of a cortical actin differential.
Graduate Category
- Sarah Wong (Mentor: Dr. Ralph Marcucio)
Title: Mechanisms of mandibular healing: transformation of cartilage to bone - TIE
Rebecca Kim (Mentor: Dr. Ophir Klein)
Title: The role of Wnt dignaling in tooth development
Nick Chang (Mentor: Dr. Daniel Fried)
Title: Influence of multi-wavelength laser irradiation of enamel surfaces at 0.355, 2.94, and 9.4 μm on surface morphology and acid resistance
Predoctoral Category
- Ernst Newbrun Award for Research Excellence: Bronwyn Hagan (Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Bush)
Title: The role of apoptosis in mouse secondary palate fusion - Arvin Pal (Mentor: Dr. Sunita Ho)
Title: Spatiotemporal mapping of mechanically stimulated periodontal complexes - Ivy Vuong (Mentors: Dr. Karen Sokal-Gutierrez and Dr. Susan Ivey)
Title: Intervention effectiveness on children’s oral health and nutrition in Vietnam