Poster presentations showcase student excellence at Research Day
Walking through a School of Dentistry poster session can be inspiring for anyone who’s invested in the future of dentistry, and that was certainly true for the recent presentations made as part of the recent Research and Discovery Day. The posters were created during the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Summer Research Fellowship Program, during which attendees had only seven weeks to complete their projects. The volume and variety of innovative ideas, serious research and committed follow-through sent a strong signal about the diligence and commitment of our learners..
This year, first place was awarded to Martha Lucas, DDS '27, for "Smartphone Imaging Yields Comparable Comfort to Intraoral Cameras in Teledentistry." Second place was awarded to Boluwatife Olu Afolabi, PhD in Oral Biology ’26, for "The Regulation of Calprotectin (S100A8/A9) by the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC)." Audience choice was given to Jadyn Nelson, DDS ’27, for “Osteoclast Precursor Variability from Mandible and Femur-Derived Bone Marrow Cells in Older Mice.”
Lucas: Smartphones as an accessible teledentistry option
Martha Lucas, DDS '27, fell in love with public health research because of its focus on—and connection to—people. "It felt like the perfect opportunity to engage with others while gaining valuable research experience," she said. That love grew as she collected data at the Minnesota State Fair, then presented her research at Research and Discovery Day and at the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research Conference. "I found the exchange to be a two-way learning experience. While I shared insights about our work, I also learned from others through their questions and their personal experiences with mobile oral health."
Her summer research project focused on participants' comfort levels using intraoral cameras versus smartphone cameras. "Our goal was to assess whether smartphone cameras could be a more accessible alternative for remote diagnostics," she explained. "If patients can comfortably capture images of their teeth using their smartphones and submit them to an AI model for evaluation, it could significantly expand access to dental care."
Lucas's study, performed under Boyen Huang, DDS, MHA, PhD, associate professor of public health, sought to reduce barriers to oral health care by eliminating the need for an initial diagnostic appointment. "Dr. Huang gave me the freedom to be creative in designing how we collected and organized the data, which made the experience incredibly hands-on," she reflected. "The involvement in every stage of the research helped me develop a deeper understanding of the project, allowing me to clearly explain both our methods and the reasoning behind them."
"Participants reported similar levels of comfort using smartphone and intraoral cameras, suggesting that smartphones could serve as a viable alternative for diagnosing dental conditions," she explained.
Afolabi: Suppressing tumors in head and neck cancers
Afolabi is a Nigerian-trained dental surgeon whose research focus is head and neck cancers, and his poster furthered his research in that field. “I explored calprotectin, a protein known to suppress tumors in head and neck cancer functions. We believe that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) might influence or regulate calprotectin's effectiveness as a tumor suppressor, but we are conducting further experiments to confirm this hypothesis.”
“I’m deeply passionate about head and neck cancer research, because it remains a challenging field with significant unmet needs,” he said. “While advances in cancer treatment have improved outcomes for many types of cancer, HNSCC continues to result in high levels of pain, functional impairment and mortality. In the bigger picture, we hope that unraveling how calprotectin is regulated in HNSCC could pave the way for developing drugs that enhance its tumor-suppressing activity. Such advancements could significantly improve outcomes for patients suffering from head and neck cancers.
“As someone from Nigeria, I’ve also witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of cancer on individuals and families due to limited access to affordable and effective treatment options. These experiences fuel my commitment to finding innovative solutions in this area.”
Nelson: Aging cells and orthodontics
Nelson describes her poster as one with direct relevance to orthodontics. “I examined how bone-destroying cells (osteoclasts) from different parts of the body—specifically the jaw (mandible) and leg (femur)—behave differently as mice age. The study found that femur-derived cells have more energy-related gene activity and break down bone more aggressively, while jaw-derived cells show increased signals that help them communicate with other bone cells for increased bone remodeling, which may affect bone health in aging individuals.”
The project gave Nelson some valuable insights into how aging affects bone remodeling in the mandible, which is critical in orthodontic treatment planning. “Findings highlight that osteoclastic activity and bone resorption decrease with age in the mandible compared to the femur, making tooth movement more challenging in older individuals undergoing orthodontic therapy,” she said.
Since she also has an interest in gene analysis and laboratory-based research, this project allowed Nelson to develop expertise in testing and techniques she had not yet explored. “The experience further strengthened my interest in integrating research with clinical applications, both in orthodontics and dentistry as a whole,” Nelson said.