Penn Dental Medicine Presents Penn Periodontal Conference 2017
The poster session during Penn Periodontal Conference 2017 allowed attendees to discuss their research one-on-one.
Philadelphia — Penn Dental Medicine presented the third biennial Penn Periodontal Conference, June 25 – 30, bringing together more than 200 attendees from across the country and around the world and providing a forum to exchange the latest research in the field of periodontics.
Penn Dental Medicine launched the first Penn Periodontal Conference in 2013 to not only bring together leading researchers in their respective fields of study but also to encourage the development of junior researchers working with them – that dual focus has continued to be a primary goal of the conference.
“We were honored to host this event and have the participation of a veritable who’s who in periodontal and oral biology research. The level of the science and the audience participation was highly impressive and remarked on by so many” says Dr. Denis Kinane, Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine and Professor of Periodontics and Pathology. “This event is about inspiring ‘up and coming’ researchers by exposing them to the leaders in oral research. The hospitality and facilities were greatly appreciated by all.”
The program speakers represented 28 universities within the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. The conference launched with an evening of presentations by junior researchers and the three-day scientific program featured a series of speakers each day addressing topics within the areas of regeneration and 3D printing, bone formation, microbiology, and host response. There was also a session on research updates and a day focusing on special topics in periodontics. Highlights also included two keynote addresses — “Genetic and Translational Approaches to Cardiovascular Risk,” presented by Dr. Daniel J. Rader of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; and “Novel Topical Drug Delivery Approach to Enhance Oral Health,” presented by Dr. Henry Daniel of Penn Dental Medicine.
The program was structured to encourage interaction among participants, and a poster presentation session was in integral part of the conference, providing the opportunity for participating researchers to share their work and talk one-on-one with each other.
“I was very impressed by the lively discussions and the exchange of information. Several new and established concepts were examined that led to interesting conversations” notes Dr. Dana Graves, Penn Dental Medicine’s Vice Dean for Research and Scholarship and Interim Chair of the Dept. of Periodontics, who organized and hosted the event with Dean Kinane. “We welcomed postdoctoral researchers and PhD students along with highly accomplished researchers; such a forum is of critical importance to advances in our discipline and to career development.”
The next Penn Periodontal Conference is anticipated to be held in 2019.