Kumar Receives Radiology Centennial Award
Dr. Vandana Kumar, a third-year graduate student in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry’s Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Program, recently received the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology’s (AAOMR) Radiology Centennial Award.
The award, presented during the academy’s annual meeting in November, honors a U.S. radiology graduate student who demonstrates the most promise as an oral and maxillofacial radiologist. (This year, the award went to two students.) Kumar will receive a $5,000 scholarship.
This is the second consecutive year that a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student received the award: Dr. Maria Mora was the 2005 recipient.
Kumar’s research focuses on the emerging three-dimensional cone beam computed tomography (CT) technology and its application to orthodontics.
“This technology is fascinating,” said Kumar, “as it gives not only access to the 3D data of the patient’s head and neck but also gives the opportunity to synthesize conventional radiographic projections – which are more accurate and are free from distortion and magnification limitations.”
This technology benefits the patient, Kumar added, as it potentially reduces the need for more radiation exposure to acquire more conventional radiographs. In addition it is useful in the generation of 3D data from the patient used to quantify the results of orthodontic and surgical clinical research.
Kumar had presented the first phase of her research at the American Association of Dental Research annual meeting in March. She presented her poster titled “Effect of Cone Beam CT Study Orientation on Synthesized 2D Radiographs from Dolphin 3D Software” at the AAOMR meeting.
Her mentor is Dr. John Ludlow, a professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences and General Dentistry’s Radiology Division.
The Radiology Centennial Award was established in 1995 to recognize Dr. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen’s discovery of the X-ray.
The American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology has about 400 members within the dental professional and dental radiographic fields.
