Dental Hygiene, Faculty and Staff, Research

Collins, Lambert, Simonian Honored by Journal of Dental Hygiene

One faculty member and school alumnae, and two recent UNC School of Dentistry dental hygiene graduates have been honored by the Journal of Dental Hygiene (JDH), the scientific, peer-reviewed journal of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA). Beth Collins and Whitney Simonian were named recipients of the ADHA/Sigma Phi Alpha Journalism Award, and faculty member Cynthia Lambert won the journal’s Best Paper Award. As honorees, all will have their scientific papers published in upcoming issues of the JDH.

Cynthia Lambert, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Dental Ecology and 2012 graduate of the UNC master’s in dental hygiene program, was honored with the Best Paper Award from the JDH. This award is given to original research papers that were published during the previous year – in this case, 2013. Lambert’s paper, Chronic HPA Axis Response to Stress in Tempromandibular Disorder, will be printed in a special issue of JDH distributed during the ADHA Annual Session this month. She will also be recognized during the annual session for winning the award.

Beth Collins, B.S.D.H. 2014 graduate, received an honorable mention in the undergraduate category of the ADHA/Sigma Phi Alpha Journalism Award competition. Honorable mention is the only other category of recognition beyond first place. Collins’s paper, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and the Role of Dental Hygienists, will be published in an upcoming issue of JDH. Collins will pursue a Master of Science in Dental Hygiene Education at the school beginning in August 2014.

Whitney Simonian, M.S.D.H. 2014 graduate, received an honorable mention in the graduate master’s/doctoral category of the ADHA/Sigma Phi Alpha Journalism Award competition. Like the undergraduate category, honorable mention is the only other category of recognition beyond first place. Simonian’s paper, Practicum Experiences: Effects on Clinical Self-Confidence of Senior Dental Hygiene Students, will also be published in an upcoming issue of JDH. Simonian will begin a full-time teaching position at Central Carolina Community College in the dental hygiene program in August 2014.

“We are very proud of the research and subsequent publications that our dental hygiene graduates are contributing to the dental and dental hygiene professions,” said Rebecca Wilder, director of graduate dental hygiene education. “The master’s students are pursing meaningful and timely thesis projects and continuing the tradition of excellence in the undergraduate and graduate dental hygiene programs.”

The Journalism Awards, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, recognizes both master’s/doctoral dental hygiene students as well as baccalaureate dental hygiene students who have written a review or original research paper that contributes to the dental hygiene body of knowledge. Students enrolled in or within six months after graduation from a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree program were eligible to apply for the award. Submitted manuscripts were peer-reviewed and ranked by a selection committee.

The ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 120,000 dental hygienists nationwide. Sigma Phi Alpha is the National Dental Hygiene Honor Society.