The 2018 Science Day Awards Luncheon took place on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, to honor the winners of the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine’s (GSDM) annual Science Day, which was held on Thursday, March 15, 2018. GSDM Science Day is a research celebration that features a keynote address, as well as poster and oral presentations by faculty/students/residents/fellows/candidates in the DMD, DMD AS, MSD, PhD, DScD, and Advanced Specialty Education Programs. The judges were tasked with evaluating 28 posters and 14 oral presentations. A dental vendor exhibition was also held in Hiebert Lounge in conjunction with the first round of poster presentations.
The Awards Luncheon was held in the Hiebert Lounge and was attended by all the student presenters, judges, and faculty mentors, as well as Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter and Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska, Associate Dean for Research. In addition, Mr. Joel Monteiro from Dentsply Sirona was in attendance to present the winner of the AADR/Dentsply Sirona Research Award. Students who were ranked in first place in the predoctoral poster, postdoctoral poster, and oral presentation categories, as well as the winner of the AADR/Dentsply Sirona Research Award, were all presented with awards. While attendees enjoyed their lunch, an animated video of the GSDM Addition and Renovation Construction played on the screen.
“Boston University is proud to be a leading research institution, and we are dedicated to living by that mission here at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine,” said Dean Hutter. “Congratulations to all who participated in Science Day and thank you for continuing to show why GSDM is a premier academic dental institution promoting excellence in dental education, research, oral health care, and community service to improve the overall health of the global population.”
Associate Dean for Research Professor Maria Kukuruzinska said, “Science Day and the Science Day Awards Luncheon are important events that celebrate our students’ research accomplishments. The luncheon is a testament to the importance of research in the educational program of the School.”
Other research conducted by GSDM students and residents has recently been awarded at various national meetings and conferences. These students and residents were also recognized by Dean Hutter and Dr. Kukuruzinska at the Awards Luncheon.
The GSDM Science Day award winners are:
Poster Presentations
Dental Students (DMD & DMD Advanced Standing)
Hamza Al Atassi, Michael Shapiro, Sowmya Rao, Jason Dean and Andrew Salama. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: “Lower Rates of OMS Resident Personal Achievements May be Related to Increased Levels of Anxiety during Training.”
Masters Students (MSD & 1st year PhD/DScD)
Marwa Shembesh, Richard Pober, Yuwei Fan and Russell Giordano. Department of Restorative Sciences/Biomaterials: “Retention Load of Various Ceramics and Cement Combinations to Titanium.”
Postdoctoral Students
Adeem Alofi, Astha Singhal, Elizabeth Kaye, Thayer Scott, Sharon Rich and Woosung Sohn. Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research: “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Opioids Prescription by Dentists.”
Fellows
Zsanett Jancso and Miklos Sahin-Toth. Department of Molecular & Cell Biology: “A trypsinogen Activation Peptide Mutation Worsens Cerulein-induced Pancreatitis in the Mouse.”
Oral Presentations
Dental Students (DMD & DMD Advanced Standing)
Jayesh Patel, Neal Fleisher and Hesham Nouh. Department of General Dentistry: “3D Implantology: Revolutionizing Guided Implant Placement Using 3D Printed Guides.”
Masters Students (MSD & 1st year PhD/DScD)
Frank Schiano, Sharron Rich and Leslie Will. Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics: “Student Learning of Digital vs Plaster Orthodontic Model Analysis.”
Postdoctoral Students
Eileen Daley and Philip Trackman. Department of Molecular & Cell Biology: “Incretin Dysregulation of Lysyl Oxidase: A Novel Mechanism for Diabetic Bone Disease.”
Fellows
Dora Mosztbacher, Zsanett Jancso and Miklos Sahin-Toth. Department of Molecular & Cell Biology: “Chymotrypsin Like Protease 1 Knockout Mouse.”
AADR/Dentsply Sirona Award Presented by Mr. Joel Monteiro
Erika Ramos and Michelle Henshaw. Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research: “Public Housing Community Member Perspectives on Biomedical and Behavioral Research.”
Predoctoral Research Mentor of the Year 2018
Melih Motro, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics
GSDM Awards at the 2018 AADR/CADR Meeting in Fort Lauderdale
Student Research Fellowship
Ariana dela Cruz and Maria A. Kukuruzinska. “Decoding Early Molecular Changes in Sjögren’s Syndrome.”
AADR Hatton Competition Finalist Junior Category
Ghassan Darwish, Eva Helmerhorst and Guoxian Wei. “Pharmaceutical Modification of a Gluten-degrading Enzyme Derived from Oral Bacteria.”
AADR Hatton Competition Finalist Senior Category
Eileen Daley and Philip Trackman. “Incretin Dysregulation of Lysyl Oxidase: A New Mechanism for Diabetic Bone Disease.”
Acknowledgment of the following student presenters who covered the GSDM booth at the meeting: Jessica Collins, Ariana dela Cruz, Melissa Ferguson, Srujana Kraleti, Ray Kuo, Edith Lin, Jessica Wang and Saeed Yazdianpour.
Acknowledgment of Other Award Winners
Yankee Dental Congress 2018 Student Poster Session 1st Place Postdoctoral Category
Alaa AlQutub, Serge Dibart and Erdjan Salih “Bone-Microenvironment Mediated Cancer Cell Dormancy, Dissemination, and Drug Resistance.”
NIDCR 2018 Summer Dental Student Award
Victor Ekehchiadi, DMD 21
Samantha Zavada, DMD 21
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
Alejandro Kochen and Paola Divieti Pajevic. Summer 2018 Full UROP Award: “Sclerostin promotes Beige Adipogenesis in Peripheral Fat Depots.”
Veronica Lu and Paola Divieti Pajevic. Summer 2018 Faculty Matching Award: “The project title is Investigating Osteocyte and Osteoclast Formation after Exposure to Osteocyte Condition Medium.”
Sheena Mead, Serge Dibart and Erdjan Salih. Summer 2018 Faculty Matching Award: “Impact of Docetaxel on Live Ex-Vivo Cancer-Bone Cell Interaction Model System in the Absence and Presence of Insulin and Calcitonin.”
Gwendolyn Pyeatt and Maria Kukuruzinska. Summer 2018 Faculty Matching Award: “Determining if High β-catenin/CBP Activity in HNSCC Creates Epigenetic Changes that Drive the Expression of CSC-associated Genes and Evaluating the Mechanism of E7386.”
Raghad Shwaikan and Paola Divieti Pajevic. Fall 2017 Faculty Matching Award: “Investigating Gene Expression in Bone Marrow Macrophage after Exposure to Osteocyte Condition Medium.”
Photos from the Science Day Award Luncheon can be found on Flickr.