Stanley Onuegbu, DDS student, won the first place Ernst Newbrun Award for Research Excellence.This year’s first Research and Clinical Excellence Day (RCED) on March 3 attracted a strong showing of support as the first in-person event hosted by UCSF School of Dentistry since the pandemic began. About 180 members of the school attended the event at Cole Hall and Millberry Union, and another 75 members participated virtually.
Watch a recap of the event, created by Edwin Calzada Nguyen, a DDS student.
Plenary speaker Kimon Divaris, DDS, PhD, a professor from the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry, spoke on “The foundations of precision oral health.”
Guo-Hao “Alex” Lin, DDS, MS, assistant clinical professor at UCSF School of Dentistry, delivered a presentation on “Extraction vs. regeneration: A clinical dilemma” as the Spotlight on Clinical Excellence speaker. Caroline Shiboski, DDS, MPH, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Orofacial Sciences at UCSF, presented on “From HIV-related oral disease to Sjögren’s next generation studies: A 30-year journey" as the Faculty Research Lecturer.
Predoctoral students and postgraduate fellows and residents delivered their research findings on 39 projects orally and through poster presentations.
Stanley Onuegbu (mentor Dr. Elizabeth Mertz) won first-place for the Ernst Newbrun Award for Research Excellence for his presentation on “Assessing black dentists’ contributions to adult’s oral health in Medi-Cal dental.”
Carolyn Nguyen, DDS student, tied in second place in the Predoctoral Category.The second-place award in the Predoctoral Category was tied between Donna Baldetti (mentor: Dr. Sharof Tugizov) for her presentation “Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in polarized and non-polarized lung epithelial cells” and Carolyn Nguyen (mentor: Dr. Christine Hong) for her presentation “P75NTR-Deficient mice demonstrate defective temporomandibular joints.”
Nam Nguyen (mentor: Dr. Sunita Ho) received the third-place award in the Predoctoral Category for his project “Human craniofacial bone quality post-orthodontic treatment is age- and anatomy-specific.”
Other research topics ranged from the “Sugar industry surveillance of dentists: reanalyzing a 1946 opinion poll” by Liza Harutyunyan (mentors: Drs. Cristin Kearns and Stuart Gansky) to “Evaluating the use of teledentistry in response to COVID-19 pandemic” by Moyu Fu (mentors Drs. Alfa Yansane & Joel White).
A complete list of projects is available in the event program.
“This 2022 Research and Clinical Excellence Day provided a venue for research fellows to showcase their innovative research, practice for the upcoming AADOCR/CADR conference, and gain valuable feedback on their work,” said Dr. Gansky, MS, DrPH, associate dean for research and Lee Hysan Chair of Oral Epidemiology in the School of Dentistry. “In addition, attendees were able to learn about cutting-edge translational research from renowned clinician-scientists: keynote speaker Dr. Kimon Divaris from UNC, Faculty Research Lecture awardee Dr. Caroline Shiboski, and clinical focus speaker Dr. Alex Lin.”
This year, the school will host a second Research and Clinical Excellence Day on Oct. 13, 2022, which is traditionally the time of the year when the annual event is held. The guest speaker will be Rena D’Souza, DDS, MS, PhD, director of the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), who is recognized for her research in craniofacial development, genetics, tooth development, and regenerative dental medicine.
(MyAccess required to view the following videos)
- Watch plenary speaker Kimon Divaris, DDS, PhD
- Watch the morning session of presentations
- Watch the afternoon session of presentations
Award Winners for Research and Clinical Excellence Day (March 2022)
1st Place for the Ernst Newbrun Award for Research Excellence: Stanley Onuegbu (Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Mertz)
2nd Place for the Predoctoral Category (tie): Donna Baldetti (Mentor: Dr. Sharof Tugizov) and Carolyn Nguyen (Mentor: Dr. Christine Hong)
Third Place for the Predoctoral Category: Nam Nguyen (Mentor: Dr. Sunita Ho)
Mentor of the Year: Dr. Joel White
People’s Choice Award: Zachary Dai (Mentor: Dr. Jay Gupta)
