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Penn Dental Medicine Student Awarded First Place at Dental Meeting

February 9, 2009

Dr. Clifford Salm, GNYDM General Chairman; Heather Desh (D'10); and Dr. Cheryl Lerner (D'82)

Third-year Penn Dental Medicine student Heather Desh (D'10) was recognized for her achievements in research with a first place award at the 2008 Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM), held in New York, NY on November 30.

Her research project, titled Ddit4L expression increases in response to murine masseter unloading, focuses on the genetic markers underlying the muscle-related causes of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Ms. Desh worked on the project with Dr. Elisabeth Barton, Assistant Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology. They found that one gene in particular, Ddit4L, exhibited increased expression during muscle unloading, which is significant due to its role in preventing cell growth and survival. As a result, if increased in human masseter muscle, this gene may prevent muscle remodeling following a period of heavy stress due to clenching or bruxism.

Twenty other dental students presented at the meeting from at least four other schools. "It was a great honor to win and represent Penn Dental Medicine," says Ms. Desh, who also had the honor of presenting at the October 2008 ADA Conference in San Antonio after winning first place in the Penn Dental Medicine Oral Health Fair last spring. She will be presenting her research on this study at the Valley Forge Dental Conference on March 6, 2009.

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