
39th Annual Research Day
Our 39th Annual Research Day at the Adams School of Dentistry was held on March 1, 2023.
Thank you to everyone who made the 39th Annual Research Day a resounding success! A special thank you to all of the presenters and contributors of the 44 abstracts presented as oral and poster presentations — it is your hard work that made our Annual Research Day a success! Finally, thank you to our keynote speaker, Dr. Jane Weintraub, the president of the American Association of Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR).
The Adams School of Dentistry’s Office of Research Discovery and Innovation hosts an annual Research Day to highlight our commitment to inspiring, creating and supporting all aspects of research, discovery and innovation. This is highlighted by the diverse, inspiring and high-quality accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff, research fellows and visiting scholars being shared at the Research Day. It is clear from the array of work presented, that investigators within the school interact and collaborate with investigators on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, as well as with leading investigators and institutions elsewhere in the United States and abroad.
Congratulations to the award winners announced at the awards reception.
ADHA Graduate Student Clinician’s Research Award
Jennie Ledbetter, BS, RDH | Self-Awareness and Evidence-Based Leadership Development for the Dental Hygiene Student
Derek T. Turner Student Research Award – DDS Category | Oral Presentation
Skylar McGaughey | Skeletal Phenotype of Melanoregulin Mutant Mice as a Function of Age
Derek T. Turner Student Research Award – DDS Category | Poster Presentation
Emily Stallings | Ultrasound Application Effect on Surface Roughness of Glass Ionomer Restorations
Derek T. Turner Student Research Award – MS/Resident Category | Oral Presentation
Auvi Tran, DDS | Evaluating Articulatory Variations of Dentofacial Disharmony Patients Using Multi-taper Spectral Analysis
Derek T. Turner Student Research Award – MS/Resident Category | Poster Presentation
Do Kim, DDS | Retrospective Assessment of Endodontically Treated Teeth Replaced by Dental Implants
Derek T. Turner Student Research Award – PhD/Post-Doctoral Category | Oral Presentation
Christopher Genito, PhD | Impaired mTOR Signaling in Diabetic Immune Suppression
Derek T. Turner Student Research Award – PhD/Post-Doctoral Category | Poster Presentation
Benjamin Darwitz | Glycolysis is Required for Staphylococcus aureus Virulence in Diabetic Co-infections
James Bawden Student Research Award
Nishma Vias | Biomarker Signatures Define Periodontal Disease Subtypes
Hinman Student Research Symposium Award
Bijan Mahboubi | PD-L1 Gene Therapy Rescues Sjögren’s Syndrome Symptoms in Mice
SCADA Student Clinical Science and Public Health Research
Bree Smith | Machine Learning-Based Re-Appraisal of Caregivers’ Health Literacy and Children’s ECC
NC AADOCR Research Day Award
Poojan Shrestha, BDS, MSc | Gene-Environment Interactions in Early Childhood Caries
James Bawden Mentor Award
Laura Jacox, DMD, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor for Research in Orthodontics, Division of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Division of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences