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Tim Morse explaining his research
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School of Dentistry posters
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Camille Vanlandschoot and Dean Lloyd
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During the weekend of April 21st, nineteen University of Minnesota School of Dentistry students attended the Midwest Dental Research Conference at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The students are all part of the Summer Research Fellowship Program, which provides School of Dentistry students with the opportunity to do research under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
Dr. Joel Rudney, Director of the Summer Research Program said that the conference was a wonderful experience for participating students and faculty. “I was very proud of our students, both for their enthusiasm and for their accomplishments. A meeting like this gives our student researchers an opportunity to be part of a larger community, and to see that their work is valued and appreciated on a national level.”
The Midwest Dental Research Conference rotates among Midwestern dental schools, and as of this year, included Minnesota, Iowa, Marquette, Illinois-Chicago, Southern Illinois (Carbondale), Missouri-Kansas City, Creighton, Nebraska, and Colorado. Students present their research using an oral or poster format in a non-competitive environment designed to foster collaboration. In addition to the U of M students, this years conference participants included students from the dental schools at the University of Iowa, Marquette University, University of Illinois – Chicago, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Colorado.
Rania Habib, who focuses her research on oral cancer and collaborates with Dr. Patrick Gaffney of the University of Minnesota Medical School, entered the summer research fellowship program the summer before her first year at the school of dentistry. Coming from an interdisciplinary environment like the U of M School of Dentistry program, she was interested to see the way in which the other participants’ work entirely focused on dental issues. She found that the conference provided an excellent opportunity for her to not only disseminate her own findings, but also gain exposure to the wide variety of student research occurring at other Dental Schools.
This was a milestone for the School of Dentistry, as it was able to provide funding for all of the summer research program participants to attend the conference. Dr. Rudney hopes to make fully-funded attendance at the Midwest Dental Research Conference an annual event.
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