Congratulations to the following students and junior researchers who received awards at PDM ACCE Day 2026:

Acadental Award

The Acadental award, funded by Acadental, provides a scholarship to an exceptional student who demonstrates innovation or entrepreneurial advancements in dental education.

  • Pari Thakkar (D’26), “Bridging Medicine and Dentistry: A Curriculum on the Oral-Systemic Links of Periodontal Disease,” Roopali Kulkarni (advisor)

Oral Cancer Care and Research Travel Award

The Oral Cancer Care and Research Travel Award was established in 2024 and is funded by the annual proceeds of the Penn Dental Medicine Oral Cancer Walk and 5K event. The purpose of this award is to support oral cancer care and research at Penn Dental Medicine. This award provides a stipend to the recipient to support travel to an appropriate national or international conference for the purpose of sharing their findings

  • Taylor M. DeVine (D’27), “Dental Workforce Availability and Head and Neck Cancer Outcomes: A County-Level Population Analysis,” James C. Gates (advisor)

Penn Dental Medicine ACCE Day Travel Award

The ACCE Day Travel Award program was launched by Penn Dental Medicine in 2021 to advance student/junior investigator research, providing funds toward their travel to a national meeting where awardees have the opportunity to present their work. Recipients are selected by a faculty panel of judges at Penn Dental Medicine’s annual ACCE Day. The following recipients were selected at ACCE Day 2026.

DMD Student Awardees

  • Brandon L. Chin (D’27), “Oral Health And Healthy Beverage Consumption In Pediatric Patients,” Evlambia Hajishengallis, Joanie Jean, Deanne Wallaert (advisors)
  • Andrew J. Thayer (D’28), “Paths to Parenthood: Family Planning in the LGBTQ+ Community”
  • Sydney A. Bohm (D’27), “Food as Reward: Association with Dental Caries Risk in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,” Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia, Miriam Robbins (advisors)

Junior Investigator Awardee

  • Tess Wallace (GD’27), “Hard And Soft Tissue Determinants Of Esthetic Outcomes Following Fibula Free Flap Reconstruction For Oral Cancer,” Brian Myungwoo Chang (advisor)
  • Safeyah Alqarni (GD’27), “Interdisciplinary implant planning of maxillary and mandibular implant-supported fixed prosthesis with immediate loading of the mandibular prosthesis. A Case Report,” Nupur Patel, John B. Lankalis (advisors)
  • Afrah Alfaifi (GD’27), “Race-Dependent Biological Drivers of Aggressive Growth in Ameloblastoma,” Sunday Akintoye (advisor)

Award for Excellence in PDM Honors

The Award for Excellence in PDM Honors recognizes outstanding honors students in Clinical Dentistry, Orthodontics, Periodontics, Oral Surgery, Endodontics, PROM, Vulnerable Populations, Nutritional Sciences, and Pediatrics.

  • Brandley Tanelus (D’26), “Beyond the Chief Complaint: Implementing Trauma-Informed and Culturally Sensitive Care in a Vulnerable Populations Clinic,” Pooja Ahluwalia (co-author)
  • Noor Elgendi and Madeline Dwamena (D’26), “Smoking as Survival: Navigating Comprehensive Dental Care in Patients with Trauma-Driven Tobacco Dependence – A Case Report,” Fairy Baxi (advisor)
  • Ryan Elder (D’27), “Does Preoperative Anemia Influence Severity of Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw and Surgical Outcomes?” Adam Fuller, Srighana Nadella, Puhan He, Katherine Theken (co-authors) Neeraj Panchal (advisor)
  • Veronica Wong (D’26), “Culturally-Sensitive Dental and Nutritional Educational Materials in Chinese-American Preschools,” Lauren Yap (advisor)

Award for Independent Research

The Award for Independent Research recognizes outstanding independent scholarly achievements by students, junior faculty, and residents.

  • Jean A. Cho (D’26),” Radiation Dosimetry–Guided Dental Surgery Planning After Head and Neck Cancer Radiotherapy: A Systematic Review,” Diana H. Joo (co-author) Brian M. Chang (advisor)
  • Temitayo Andrew (D’27), “Benchmarking Operational Variability and Decision System Maturity in Dental Practices: A Cross-Sectional Study,” Modupe O. Coker (advisor)

Award for Educational Initiatives

The Award for Excellence in Educational Initiatives recognizes exceptional students, junior investigators, and residents who are shaping the future of education through innovative projects.

  • Peter E. Varela (D’26), “Outcomes of Dental School Pilot Biopsy Program,” Taylor M. DeVine (co-author) James C. Gates (advisor)
  • Jacqueline F. Wolf-Sonkin (D’28), “Evaluating the Success of Team-Based Exams in Dental School,” Myra F. Laird (co-author) Faizan Alawi (advisor)

Award for Excellence in Community Oral Health Scholarship

The Award for Excellence in Community Oral Health Scholarship recognizes exceptional students and their projects in Community Oral Health Honors and the Bridging the Gaps program.

  • Julia K. Denlinger, Michelle Crispin, Noah Buzinkai, and Rosemarie G. Milelli (D’27), “A Quality Improvement Initiative to Standardize Pediatric Oral Hygiene Evaluation” Daniel Mariche-Poirot (advisor)
  • Manuel R. Acuna (D’26), “Improving Access to Emergency Dental Care at Puentes de Salud,” Anna Barckhausen, Lilian Arce, Julia Picarella, Maria Leal (co-authors) Wendoly Martel, Tatyana Straus (advisors)