Congratulations to the following students and junior researchers who received awards at PDM Research Day 2024.

AADOCR Student Research Day Award

The AADOCR Student Research Day Award, funded by the AADOCR, is designed to recognize the best presentation at an academic institution’s research day competition. The award consists of a complimentary meeting registration and a monetary award of $500 to assist with travel to an upcoming AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition. The Awardees will also be highlighted in the General Session & Exhibition Program Book and AADOCR website.

Awardee/Project Faculty Advisor
Kyungjoon Park: Effect of Aging on the Tensile Force-Induced Mesenchymal Stem Cells Responses: Proliferation and Apoptosis Hyeran Helen Jeon, Dept. of Orthodontics

Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) Award

Dentsply Sirona and the American Association for Dental, Oral, Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) have joined forces to co-sponsor the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA), formerly known as the Student Clinicians of the American Dental Association.

The SCADA program advances our collective commitment to empower the next generation of dental leaders. By showcasing students’ research, and recognizing their passion for discovery and innovation, we will fuel the future of dental care.

Awardee/Project Faculty Advisor
Qinyuan Chen: A Novel Design of Bone-target Delivery Through Bisphosphonate Lipid Nanoparticles Kyle Vining, Dept. of Preventive & Restorative Sciences

Penn Dental Medicine AADOCR Travel Award

The AADOCR Travel Award program was launched by Penn Dental Medicine in 2014 to advance student/junior investigator research, providing funds toward their travel to the annual AADOCR 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 Research Day. The following recipients were selected at Research Day 2024 and will attend and present their research at an upcoming AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition.

DMD Student Awardees

Awardee/Project Faculty Advisor
Srighana Nadella: Effect of Infectious Disease Consultations on Outcomes of Surgical Management of MRONJ Katherine Theken | Neeraj Panchal, Dept. of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Regina Lekumovich: Cxcl-12 Secreted by Adiponectin+ Cells Regulates Bone Turnover and Homeostasis Chider Chen, Dept. of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Anisha Shah: Investigating the Effect of Fungal-Derived β-glucan on Trained Osteoclastogenesis George Hajishengallis, Dept. of Basic & Translational Sciences
Parth Patel: Factors Affecting Perception of Dental Provider Skills in Autistic Individuals and Their Caregivers Living in Pennsylvania Diana Schendel, Drexel Autism Institute
Ajay Kumar: Oral Proinsulin Drug Bio-encapsulated in Plant Cells Henry Daniell, Dept. of Basic & Translational Science

Graduate Dental Education Student Awardees

Awardee/Project Faculty Advisor
Jiaqi Li: Restoration of Lysosomal pH and Functions by Delivering Acidic Nanoparticles Claire H Mitchell, Dept. of Basic & Translational Sciences
Tahir Hamza: Abdulaziz Alshahrani: Serum Analytes in Periodontal Health, Disease, and Post-SRP Flavia Teles, Dept. of Basic & Translational Sciences
Abdulaziz Alshahrani: Optimizing Zirconia Speed Sintering Parameters for Strength and Translucency Yu Zhang, Dept. of Preventive & Restorative Sciences

Junior Investigator Awardees

Awardee/Project Research Lab
Malihatosadat Gholam Zadeh: Lamin A/C Deficiency in Chondrocytes Exacerbates Osteoarthritis Severity by Regulating Chondrocyte Senescence and Related Degradation Activity Shuying Yang, Dept. of Basic & Translational Sciences
Gundappa Saha: Trained Immunity as a Causative Link in the NASH-Periodontitis Comorbidity Flavia Teles, Dept. of Basic & Translational Sciences
Yuchen Jiang: Determination of Altered Elemental Compositions within TBCK-deficient Enamel to Predict Neurodegenerative Phenotype Severity Kyle Vining | Elizabeth J. K. Bhoj, Dept. of Preventive & Restorative Sciences

Gail Schupak Travel Award

The Gail Schupak Student Research fund was established in 2021 by a generous gift from Alumnae Gail Schupak D’83. The purpose of the fund was to give students access to resources for year round research projects making them more competitive for awards and fellowships within and outside the School.  Additionally, the funds are being used for the first time this year to award two travel stipends for winners to attend an upcoming AADOCR meeting.

Awardee/Project Faculty Advisor
Marvin Min: Effect of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) on Inflammatory Pain Response Katherine Theken, Dept. of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Stefanie L Wyszkowski: In Vitro Comparative Study Between Full-Arch Abutment Level Implant Impressions with Different Scan Bodies – A Pilot Study Julian Conejo, Dept. of Preventive & Restorative Sciences

Oral Cancer Award

Awarded from proceeds of the annual Penn Dental Medicine Oral Cancer Walk & 5K for a student to attend an upcoming AADOCR meeting.

Awardee/Project Faculty Advisor
Jessica Hao: ZIF-8 as pH-responsive 5-fluorouracil Carrier Against Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Chider Chen, Dept. of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery | Fusun Ozer, Dept. of Preventive & Restorative Sciences

Vernon Brightman Award

Awardee/Project Faculty Advisor
Madina Shikhverdieva: Bond Strength of a Luting Cement to Two Different Resin Core Foundation Materials Fusun Ozer, Dept. of Preventive & Restorative Sciences