LeCornu Wins First Place at Moyers Symposium
Third-year orthodontics resident Megan LeCornu won first place in a scientific poster competition at the 40th Moyers Symposium. Her winning research poster was based on her research titled “Three-dimensional treatment outcomes in class II patients treated using Herbst: pilot study.” She was named the winner from a pool of over 40 abstracts from five continents.
“I was honored to get to represent UNC at the Moyers Symposium,” said LeCornu. “I was even more excited this project was recognized by such an elite group of scientists.”
LeCornu’s winning research focuses on 3-D evaluation of skeletal changes following Herbst treatment for class II patients. Herbst treatment generally describes the use of an appliance to correct what’s commonly called an underbite. The appliance is placed on the patient’s back molars to encourage the forward movement of the lower jaw and the backward movement of the upper jaw. Class II patients refer to those patients who are further along in treatment that utilizes the Herbst appliance.
“Dr. LeCornu’s research is the first study using 3-D imaging to show that Herbst appliances restrain the growth of the upper jaw while repositioning the lower jaw more forward to correct the underbite,” said Dr. Tung Nguyen, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Orthodontics. “We’re proud of both her research and her accomplishment at the Moyers Symposium.”
As winner of the research poster competition, LeCornu received a cash prize at the Moyers Symposium. LeCornu will also present her research at the 113th American Association of Orthodontics meeting, which is being held May 3 – 7 in Philadelphia, and compete in the Charley Schultz Residents Scholar Award competition, which is also held at the aforementioned meeting.
Started in 1974 to honor Robert Moyers, the former chair of the University of Michigan’s Department of Orthodontics and the founding director of the university’s Center for Human Growth and Development, the Moyers Symposium occurs annually in Michigan and is regarded as one of the premier scientific meetings for orthodontics. The symposium promotes research in basic, translational and clinical science relevant to orthodontics and craniofacial biology.
