Third Annual Dean's Research Day

On April 20th, the School of Dentistry hosted its third annual Dean’s Day research update program.  This day long program provided an overview of cutting edge research currently undertaken by School of Dentistry faculty and students.  Highlights included the keynote address by David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., Professor and Associate Dean of Research at the UCLA School of Dentistry. In his presentation, entitled “Saliva Diagnostics: Powered by NanoTechnologies, Proteomics & Genomics”, Dr. Wong discussed his research about saliva biomarkers. Because saliva contains many of the same proteins that blood and urine do, molecules collected in saliva samples can reveal the presence of diseases such as cancer.  While some saliva tests are already in-use to detect the presence of HIV, Dr. Wong discussed innovations that have the potential of creating new portable saliva-testing devices that could supplement or replace many tests that are normally done with blood and urine. In addition to his recent presentation, Dr. Wong is a member of a team of researchers conducting an oral chemoprevention clinical trial for mouth and throat cancer.  The team, which was assembled by Frank Ondrey, assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s School of Medicine Departent of Otolaryngology also includes School of Dentistry Professor, Dr. Nelson Rhodus.  

School of Dentistry faculty followed Dr. Wong, with presentations that covered:

• Development of a National Facility to Improve Future Outcomes and Safety of Temporomandibular Joint Implants: NIDCR's TIRR (Dr. Sandra Myers)
• Animal Models of TMJ Disorders (Dr. David Bereiter)
• The Allure of the Path Less Traveled: Non-Traditional Careers for Dentists (Dr. Mark Herzberg)
• Building Bone and Framing Vessels for Tissue Engineering (Dr. Mansur Ahmad)
• Using Saliva to Diagnose the Malignant Transformation of Oral Leukoplakia (Dr. Frank Ondrey speaking for Dr. Nelson Rhodus)
• Understanding Remineralization Therapy (Dr. Daranee Versluis)
• Bisphosphonate-Associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (Dr. Raj Gopalakrishnan)

Before, during the breaks and in a special poster session, participants had an opportunity to take part in poster presentations by School of Dentistry Summer Research Fellows.

Robert Chalgren in front of his poster presentation entitled “Shear Bond Strength Upon Treatment Variation of an Esthetic Orthodontic Bracket”.  His research will be published in the online version of American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics later this year.

More Information on Summer Research Fellows