Research Day 2026 Spotlights Depth, Impact of Penn Dental Medicine Research
Philadelphia—Penn Dental Medicine celebrated the depth and impact of its research and scholarship at its annual Research Day on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. The event showcased the innovative work of students, postdocs, and faculty investigators, highlighting the School’s commitment to advancing scientific discovery and clinical excellence across disciplines.
“Research Day highlights the basic, translational and clinical research that drives our research community,” says Dr. Dana Graves, Vice Dean for Scholarship and Research at Penn Dental Medicine and Chair of Research Day. “It is inspiring to see our students, faculty, and trainees working across disciplines to advance the research mission of Penn Dental Medicine.”
The two guest keynote speakers are both renown researchers and prominent academic leaders — Dr. Jonathan Epstein, Dean of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine and Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dr. Laurie McCauley, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Michigan. Dean Epstein’s presentation focused on the impact of fibroblasts on heart failure and how recent advances in mRNA-based CAR T therapy can eliminate scar-forming fibroblasts in the heart to improve outcomes. Provost McCauley spoke on bone regeneration using parathyroid hormone and parathyroid hormone-related protein treatment and how specific immune cells, macrophages, contribute to bone loss and repair.
This year’s Research Day faculty presentations featured: Dr. Esra Sahingur, Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics, exploring the interplay between inflammation, cellular senescence, and the microbiome in periodontal aging; Dr. Flavia Teles, Professor, Department of Basic & Translational Sciences, exploring how integrative clinical and molecular approaches are reshaping our understanding of periodontitis progression, highlighting novel biomarkers, microbial signatures, and host–microbe interactions that define disease trajectories; and Dr. Anh Le, Chair and Norman Vine Endowed Professor of Oral Rehabilitation, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery/Pharmacology, on her lab’s work on characterizing mesenchymal stem cells derived from human gingival tissues (GMSCs) as unique stem cells for tissue engineering, soft and hard tissue regeneration, and immunomodulatory functions.
A highlight of the event is the poster session, which this year featured 37 faculty and junior investigator posters and 73 student posters that spanned a wide spectrum of Penn Dental Medicine research. Student and junior investigator posters were judged for a series of competitive awards and travel opportunities that enable awardees to present their work at national meetings, fostering professional growth, and contributing to the future of dental research. View this year’s award recipients >>.
In addition, the Joseph and Josephine Rabinowitz Award for Excellence in Research was presented to two faculty members – Dr. Lauren C. Yap, Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Assistant Program Director for Postdoctoral Pediatric Dentistry Program, for “Oral Microbiome Changes in Children Placed on a Ketogenic Diet” and Dr. Wenjing Yu, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, Associate Director of Predoctoral Orthodontics Program, for “The role of Gli1+ Chondroprogenitor Cells in Degenerative Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) Diseases.”
Penn Dental Medicine will present its annual Advances in Clinical Care and Education (ACCE) Day, which celebrates faculty, resident, and student scholarship in community service, educational initiatives, and advances in clinical care, on May 14. Learn more about ACCE Day 2026 >>
View the full photo gallery on our Facebook Page. >>