22nd annual Research Day explores research that informs clinical care

The School of Dentistry showcased research that directly impacts patient care at the 22nd annual Research and Discovery day, held Friday, March 6.

Sponsored by the Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Discovery and Continuing Dental Education, Research Day brings together dental researchers, providers and students to showcase research findings in oral health care, oral biology and more. The day is designed to promote discussion, collaboration and education that celebrates research and facilitates its translation into clinical practice.

This year’s event centered around the theme of clinically-focused research, exploring the study of dental disease—including the mechanisms of disease formation, links to systemic disease, immune effects, sampling techniques and therapies.

Dean Keith Mays, DDS, MS, PhD, began the day with welcome remarks.

“This is a great time for discovery at our school, and we’ve got a great list of presenters and excellent posters,” Mays said. “I’m glad you were all able to take a bit of time away from your daily routine and join us.”

He then announced the 2025 Century Club Professor of the Year, Massimo Costalonga, DMD, PhD, professor of basic sciences.

Kristin Artinger, PhD, Assistant Dean of Research and Discovery, provided an overview of the day. “This year, we’re excited to highlight translational and clinical research,” Artinger said. “We hope this day highlights not only the work, but also the collaboration and mentorship we see in the school. Thank you for being part of this community and being curious.”

The day began with a keynote from Hatice Hasturk, DDS, PhD, professor and director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at the Forsyth Institute. A dentist and periodontist, Hasturk explores the link between oral disease and systemic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Her presentation focused on the mechanistic link between cardiovascular disease and periodontal inflammation, including the basic mechanisms of local and systemic inflammation, the connection between the diseases and strategies for patient management in reducing inflammation.

“Periodontal disease has been linked with many of the systemic diseases that we know of as inflammatory phases,” she explained. “This is an area in which dentistry can be a leader in global health. That might place us more centrally in the overall health of the human being.”

Following Hasturk’s presentation, attendees heard from Drake Williams, DDS, PhD, assistant professor of diagnostic and biological sciences, on the unique spatial organization at the oral barrier that maintains integrity and immunity under constant microbial pressure. Williams’s presentation was followed by Danna Paulson, DHSc, MSDH, RDH, CCRP, assistant professor of dental hygiene, on patient-reported outcomes and their relationship to clinical measures.
 

“I don’t need to convince any of you in this room of the importance of gingival tissue as an interesting tissue to study,” Williams reflected, before sharing his recent publication in Nature  Communications.

Paulson invited attendees to consider the importance of context and patients’ lived experience, using the example of a typical individual missing front teeth, compared with a hockey player who may see that lack of teeth as a point of pride.

“The only way to get that information is to ask the patient, and that’s exactly what dental patient-reported outcomes help us to accomplish,” she explained.

Select presenters then shared a preview of their research posters, before a poster session presentation. Taylor Stewart, DDS ’28, shared her DDS Summer Research Program study of polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable aligner material, to explore whether it can serve as a sustainable alternative to traditional clear aligners. Fahmida Raha, PhD student in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics, previewed her study on the role of PRDM3 and PRDM16 in cranial neurogenesis from neural crest cells. Harry Huang, DDS ’28, shared his experience with the DDS Student Summer Research Program developing a model of oral lichen planus. Boluwatife “Olu” Afolabi, fourth-year PhD student, shared his research on calprotectin, a common tumor suppressor, and how it itself becomes suppressed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Emily Wamer, DDS ’28, shared her summer research experience exploring tooth agenesis in School of Dentistry patients. Finally, Bethany Miller, DDS ’28 and summer research fellow, shared her research on peridontitis and inflammatory bone loss.

Attendees had the opportunity to review the 33 poster presentations over the lunch hour.

Following lunch, attendees heard from Robert Jones, DDS, PhD, professor of pediatric dentistry, on an evidentiary pluralism approach to studying oxymetazoline in pulp therapy, and from Karen Johnstone, PhD, researcher of basic sciences, on challenges and solutions to scale biofilm and identify and deploy phages that selectively remove disease-causing bacteria.

The day concluded with the announcement of winners of poster presentations. Sara Ong, researcher of biomaterials, won first place for her poster “The viability of using phosphorescent particles in 3D digital image correlation to monitor surface strains on aligners,” and Johan Alfaro Carballo, PhD candidate, received second place for his poster, “MRI Assessment of Jaw Muscle Metabolism in Chronic TMD Pain.” Taylor Stewart, DDS ’28, received the audience choice award for “Biocompatibility and Cytotoxicity of a Biodegradable Aligner Material.”

Attendees left energized and excited about the opportunities available for clinical and translational research at the school and beyond.