Research

The inaugural cohort of MnCORE learners are making an impact on research projects throughout Moos Tower.

Louis Mansky, PhD, professor of basic sciences and director of the Institute for Molecular Virology, received an NIH R21 grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research for his work on cryo-CLEM imaging of HTLV-1, along with Wei Zhang, PhD, research professor of basic sciences, and Joachim Mueller, professor of physics. 

Researchers and learners at the School of Dentistry gathered to exchange ideas and learn from one another at a research exchange event that brought together various areas of expertise. 

The grant seeks to “reduce the need for lengthy and costly clinical studies, thus reducing the developmental costs and accelerating the translation of dental restorative materials from the benchtop to the chairside,” Fok explained.

Specifically, Wang plans to examine Epstein-Barr Virus nuclear antigen leader protein, or EBNALP, “an EBV-encoded gene essential for EBV to transform naive B cells into proliferating lymphoblastoid cell lines.”

Rosemary Skriver, BDSH ’22, MDT ’23, received the American Dental Hygienists Association’s 2023 Sigma Phi Alpha Undergraduate Journalism Award for her research on providers’ knowledge and attitudes toward patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. Skriver is the first dental therapy student to receive a national award for her writing. 

The Dental Clinical Research Fellowship is a competitive program that invites researchers to the NIDCR for two to three years to focus on an area of research important to the fellow, as well as undertaking clinical work at the NIH Clinical Center Dental Clinic. 

Danna Paulson, MSDH, RDH, CCRP, researcher for the School of Dentistry, isn’t your typical study coordinator. And that is precisely what leads her to excel in the role.

Orthodontics residents and faculty had a strong showing at the 2023 American Association of Orthodontists Annual Session, representing the University of Minnesota with research, networking and more. 

In the past four years, Michelle Arnett, RDH, MS, assistant professor of dental hygiene, and Yvette Reibel, EdD, RDH, have mentored four BSDH learners and one MDT learner through the research process. Five of those learners have published their research—three alone in February 2023.