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The School of Dentistry celebrated its 43rd Annual Research and Clinical Symposium this March in the Holly Auditorium and Foyer at 51���. This year’s symposium welcomed a full auditorium as pre-doctoral, doctoral and post-doctoral students, residents, faculty and dental students presented a total of 45 oral and poster research projects.

The symposium began with remarks from , professor and dean of the School of Dentistry and director of the Center for Global and Community Oral Health. The first distinguished keynote speaker Mark Ryder, DMD, professor and chair of the Department of Periodontology and Orofacial Sciences at the University of California San Francisco, presented “Floss to Remember, Remember to Floss: The Oral Microbiome-Brain Connection.” 

More than 10 participants delivered oral presentations, followed by 35 poster presentations in the foyer. By 3 p.m., Dean Loomer welcomed all attendees back to the auditorium to introduce the second esteemed speaker, Master Clinician Awardee, , clinical professor in the school’s Department of Developmental Dentistry. Mabry delivered a presentation titled “Evaluation and Management of Facial Swellings from Dental Origin.” 

The program continued with a presentation from Research Awardee , an associate professor in the Department of Periodontics, who presented “Teeth as Mineralized Tissues and Attached Organs.”

To conclude the symposium, Dean Loomer and , interim director of the Center for Regenerative Sciences and associate dean of research at the School of Dentistry, took the stage to recognize the winners and present award certificates.

2025 School of Dentistry Research and Clinical Symposium Awardees

Oral Presentations
1st Place

Dental Student: Hamsini Nathan, presented: “Is Antibiotic Prophylaxis Indicated in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Oral Surgery?”

Pre-doctoral: Jacyln Merlo, MS, doctoral student in the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and a participant in the Craniofacial Oral-Biology Student Training in Academic Research program, presented: “Targeting Truncated TrkB: A Breakthrough in Understanding Oral Cancer Pain.”

Post-doctoral: Nida-E-Haque Mahmud, DDS, BDS, MS, resident in the Pediatric Dentistry Certificate program, presented: “Designing Sensory-Adapted Pediatric Dental Care for Children with Sensory Processing Disorders: A Randomized Crossover Trial.”

Poster presentations
1st Place

Dental Student: Alexander Reed, presented: “Antimicrobial 3D-Printable Orthodontic Retainers with Quaternary Ammonium Methacryloxy Silane.”

Dental Resident: Rachel Kurcz, DDS, resident in the Advanced Education Program in Endodontics, presented: “Comparative evaluation of Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) removal from infected root canals by GentleWave or Laser-activated Irrigation.”

Post-doctoral: Samuel Chivers, MS, research associate in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, presented: “Peripheral macrophages contribute to nociceptor priming in mice with chronic intermittent hypoxia.”

PhD: Jessie Alfaro, graduate student in the , Physiology, Pharmacology Discipline, and a participant of the Craniofacial Oral-Biology Student Training in Academic Research program, “Identification of Trigeminal Sensory Neurons Innervating the Temporomandibular Joint.”

2nd Place

Dental Student: Roshan Patel, presented: “Antimicrobial 3D-Printable Temporary Restorative Resins with Quaternary Ammonium Methacryloxy Silane.”