Student, Faculty Research Recognized by AADOCR/IADR

Philadelphia – Penn Dental Medicine students and faculty research was in the spotlight at the recent 2024 IADR/AADOCR/CADR General Session & Exhibition held in New Orleans, March 13-16, with more than 50 student and faculty researchers participating in the scientific program and a number of them recognized with awards.

“It was exciting to have such a strong representation of the School’s research at the general session. Our goal is to make research more accessible for students and grow our community of evidence-based practitioners, future scientists, and academic leaders,” says Dr. Esra Sahingur, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Student Research.

Penn Dental Medicine awardees and student researchers from the 2024 IADR/AADOCR/CADR General Session include the following.

Student Awards

AADOCR Student Research Fellowship

The AADOCR Student Research Fellowship encourages dental students living in the U.S. to consider careers in oral health research. Upon completion of their research projects, recipients present their project at a future AADOCR meeting. Four DMD students were recognized with a fellowship award.

AADOCR Hatton Competition

The AADOCR Hatton Competition is designed for young investigators who exhibit potential for a productive career in dental research and is awarded in three categories – junior, senior, and postdoctoral.

Marshall Padilla, a NIDCR T90 postdoctoral fellow within the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry (CiPD), Penn Dental Medicine’s collaborative center with Penn Engineering, won first place in the AADOCR Hatton Competition Postdoctoral category. His winning project was titled, “mRNA Lipid Nanoparticles for Next-Generation Oral Cancer Tumor Suppressor Therapy.” Dr. Padilla’s research focuses on developing new materials to enhance the efficacy and safety of biological therapeutics, working in the lab of Dr. Michael J. Mitchell of Penn’s Department of Bioengineering and in collaboration with Dr. Shuying (Sheri) Yang and Dr. Anh Le in Penn Dental Medicine.

 AADOCR Bloc Travel Grant

The AADOCR Bloc Travel Grants support travel for U.S. dental or PhD students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows to the AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition for presentation of scientific papers.

Jessica Hao (D’26) was awarded a Travel Grant for her abstract, “ZIF-8 as pH-Responsive 5-Fluorouracil Carrier Against oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma” under the mentorship of Dr. Chider Chen from the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Dr. Fusun Ozer in the Department of Preventive & Restorative Sciences.

Marshall Padilla also received a Bloc Travel Grant.

IADR Consortium of Translational Orthodontic Research (CTOR) Award for Student Excellence in Orthodontics Research

 This award acknowledges excellence in orthodontics research conducted and presented by dental students and graduate students at the IADR General Session & Exhibition.

Sara Ha (D’25) received this award for her research titled, “Histologic Analysis of Bone Remodeling during Maxillary Expansion: Young and Middle‐Aged Mice.”

Faculty Awards

IADR Innovation in Oral Care Award

Jointly sponsored by IADR and Haleon, this competitive award is designed to advance oral care programs directed toward the development of innovative and novel compounds, biomaterials, or devices that can be used ultimately at the public health level.

Geelsu Hwang, Assistant Professor in the Division of Restorative Dentistry, was awarded the Innovation Award for his research. Dr. Hwang’s research is centered on applying engineering principles and tools to understand the pathogenesis of various biofilm-associated oral diseases and to develop therapeutic approaches. His research also includes the dynamic interplay between host and microbes in the context of infectious oral disease. He has published extensively in the area of biofilm research using engineering, biochemical/biophysical, confocal imaging methodologies, and mathematical modeling.

AADOCR Anne D. Haffajee Fellowship

The Anne D. Haffajee Fellowship was created in recognition of Dr. Haffajee’s many contributions to clinical research in Periodontology and Oral Biology and her prominence as a female leader and role model in the field. The immediate goal of this fellowship is to support women researchers at the early stages of their scientific careers. The long-term objective is to increase the representation of women at the higher ranks in science and academia in the field of Oral Biology.

 Dr. Chenshuang Li, Assistant Professor of Orthodontics and Co-Director of Orthodontic Clinic, was recognized for the strength and potential of her research and teaching with this Fellowship.  The primary focus of Dr. Li’s research is the functional investigation of molecules involved in tissue development and regeneration, as well as ligand-receptor binding, signaling transduction, and stem cell biology. Her extensive publications and awards demonstrate her strong clinical and research background, as well as her achievement and passion for pursuing a career as an educator and clinician-scientist. During the AADOCR session, Dr. Li presented a project titled, the “Relationship between Buccal Osteotomy Angulation and Asymmetric Expansion in SARPE.”

Student & Postdoc Presentations

Among the abstracts presented by students and postdocs at the 2024 IADR/AADOCR/CADR General Session were the following:

Penn Dental Medicine offers postgraduate training in all the dental specialty areas as well as Master of Science in Oral Biology, Master of Advanced Dental Studies, and Doctor of Science in Dentistry degrees. In addition, the School’s advanced graduate degree programs include a Master of Oral Health Sciences for both DMD track students and non-U.S.-trained dentists. Additionally, we recently launched a Master of Science in Oral and Population Health. You can learn more about our advanced graduate degree programs and research at Penn Dental Medicine here.