Did you miss the last Research Day? Here’s what happened.
On April 3, 2019, the 27th annual Research Day was held at the IUPUI Campus Center to celebrate the hard work done throughout the academic year. The event included a ceremony to award 20 distinguished faculty and students, with keynote speaker Dr. Margherita Fontana from University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Following the ceremony, there were 58 poster presentations and 36 clinical case reports available for attendees to learn more about current research in the field of dentistry.
Faculty awards
The faculty awards presented by Dean John Williams included:
- The IU School of Dentistry Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching, presented to Dr. Daniel Shin
- The IU School of Dentistry Distinguished Faculty Award for Research, presented to Dr. Chandler Walker
- The King Saud University Distinguished Research Faculty Travel Award, presented to Dr. Yusuke Hamada
Student awards
The awards given to dental hygiene, undergraduate, predoctoral, and graduate dental students were presented by Dr. Frank Lippert, president of the Indiana section of the American Association of Dental Research. Students were awarded for their outstanding contribution to the school’s research mission.
- Alec Willard and Robert Holland received the prestigious Cyril S. Carr Research Scholarship, our highest research award. Alec worked under the guidance of Dr. Tien-Min Gabriel Chu and Robert Holland worked under the guidance of Dr. Angela Bruzzaniti.
- The AADR/Dentsply Sirona Student Award for Advancing Dental Research and Its Application was presented to Rebecca Shembarger, mentored by Dr. Laura Romito.
- Molly Sanders received the King Saud University Travel Award for Excellence in Preventive Oral Health Care under the guidance of mentor Dr. Richard Gregory.
- The ASDA IU School of Dentistry Student Research Group Award, sponsored by INAADR, was awarded to Robert Holland with Dr. Angela Bruzzaniti as his mentor.
- Lauren Hardebeck was awarded the IN-AADR Undergraduate Student Award for her project, “Inhibiting Pyk2 Promotes Dental Pulp Stem Cell Differentiation and Mineralization,” with her mentor Dr. Angela Bruzzaniti.
- The King Saud University Ph.D. Student Travel Award was presented to Hadeel Ayoub for the project “Biofilm Recovery and the Anti-Caries Efficacy of Three Fluoride Compounds.” Hadeel worked with Dr. Frank Lippert as her mentor.
- King Saud University also sponsored a Travel Award for Best Clinical Case Report, given to Dr. Yu-Ting Yeh, a M.S.D. periodontics resident.
- Alissa Shinault and Brianna Lebeda were awarded the Elizabeth A. Hughes Dental Hygiene Award. Honorable Mention was awarded to Jennifer Sheets and Katlin Smithey.
- The Maynard K. Hine Award for Excellence in Dental Research was awarded to Hawra AlQallaf.
- The Delta Dental Award for Innovation in Oral Care Research was presented to Dr. Yu-Ting Yeh, a M.S.D. periodontics resident, mentored by Dr. Yusuke Hamada.
Poster presentations and exhibits
Upon completion of the awards ceremony, students had the opportunity to listen to poster presentations in the many rooms designated for presentations. Additionally, students had the chance to meet with sponsors and interact with vendors, including Delta Dental Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Odeme Dental Research, Bright Ideas IN Broad Ripple, Procter & Gamble/Crest, Dentsply International, and many more.
Research Day 2019 at the IU School of Dentistry was a huge success and it has, as always, shown the true spirit of our dental community’s involvement in research. We hope to continue this rich tradition throughout the years and thank you for making this event as impactful as possible.
