In 2013, our 800 students, 325 faculty, 250 staff, and 6,500 alumni will launch a year-long 50th Anniversary Celebration at the 2013 Yankee Dental Congress. The celebration will then continue throughout the year, both here in Boston and at alumni events throughout the United States and around the globe.

Said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter, “In order to successfully celebrate this special moment in the history of our School, I have established a Committee to oversee our celebration of the 50th Anniversary of GSDM, and within the Committee, a Working Group to plan the events that will comprise our celebration. I am very pleased that Dr. Thomas Kilgore has accepted my invitation to chair the Committee and the Working Group. As chair, Dr. Kilgore will be responsible for the scheduling of meetings and conducting the business of the Committee and its Working Group.”

Committee and Working Group members will include: Ms. Mary Becotte, Dr. Joseph Calabrese, Dr. Laisheng Chou, Ms. Lindsay Corrigan, Dr. Shadi Daher, Dr. Neal Fleisher, Dr. Paula K. Friedman, Dr. Michelle Henshaw, Mr. Kevin Holland, Mr. Timothy Mcdonough, Dr. Carl Mcmanama, Ms. Stacey Mcnamee, Dr. Janet Peters, Dr. Stephen Polins, Dr. Tina Valades, and Dr. Mitch Sabbagh. The full Committee will be named shortly.

Dr. Kilgore said, “I’m very excited to be involved in the planning for the 50th anniversary of our School and for the great group of colleagues who will be working with us on this important project. We have a lot of work to do and we’ll be scheduling a meeting of the working group. I would also like to encourage all members of our GSDM family to feel free to come to me with ideas and suggestions for our celebration.”

Provost Antman and Dean Hutter both greeted the group and welcomed them to the reception. Dean Hutter gave a brief overview on the state of the Dental School and added, “I am so pleased to be in Miami for this reception. We have a wonderful group of alumni residing and practicing dentistry in this area, and both myself and Kathy, are delighted to see you all turn out to celebrate the special place that Boston University and the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine hold in our hearts.”

Photos are available on facebook and flickr.

“Doctors With a Heart has grown to include thousands of doctors across various health care disciplines,” said Dr. Schnell. “We felt that this was our way to give back to our community and participate in a day of giving. We selected this date in memory of a member of our staff who passed away. February 14th—Valentine’s Day—was her birthday.”

Drs. Schnell and Short, along with The Classic Smile associate Shila Sharifi DMD 08, PROS 11 and APEX student Yi Xu DMD 13, provided complimentary dental care to about eight homeless families in need. They worked with the Medford Family Life Education Center (Shelter Inc.) to identify the families they treated and schedule the appointments.

They say working closely with this organization allows them to be organized and efficient so they can treat as many patients as possible. They also support the organization’s mission. Dr. Schnell explains, “This shelter not only provides food and housing, but it is a training facility for women in need of preparation for job placements and a chance to improve their situation. These are women and their children who are actively seeking to better themselves and their lives while moving into independent living.”

In a paper published in early February by PLoS One, researchers show, “that the recombinant protein can inhibit growth of a pre-existing tumor in mice,” said Dr. Trackman. “This is important, because earlier work showed that if LOX-PP were made by the cancer cells themselves, growth would be slowed.”

Research Assistant Professor Dr. Manish Bais carried out the studies detailed in this paper with the support of Lab Technician Danielle Stephens and Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr. S. Selve Sume. Dr. Sume assisted Dr. Bais with histology and immunohistochemistry methods.

These studies are part of ongoing research collaboration with Tufts University School of Medicine Professor Dr. Gail Sonenshein and BUSM Professor Dr. Kathrin Kirsch, with help from BUSM Professor Dr. Matthew Nugent.

The paper is available in full on the PLoS One website.

The group collected at least 12 large bags or containers full of clothing, including brand new coats and fleece jackets, winter boots, and new face cloths and socks.

“We would like to thank all the students, faculty, and staff members who donated,” said Verde.

Added Lituri, “The staff of Rosie’s Place was very pleased to receive our donations. The students did a great job organizing this clothing drive and they should be very proud of their efforts.”

Manuel Posada PROS 12 won an award in the post-doctoral category for his Yankee Dental Congress 2012 poster presentation titled, “An Aesthetic Comparison of Different CAD/CAM Custom Abutment Materials on the Gingival Color: A Clinical Report.” Posada worked with Assistant Professor and Director of the Prosthodontics Residents Lab Dr. Gurkan Goktug and Clinical Associate Professor Dr. Hideo Yamamoto on his research.

Explained Posada, “My research is about scientifically measuring the color change of the gingiva when different abutment materials are used to restore dental implants.”

Added Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter “I attended the poster session at Yankee and was able to see first-hand Manuel’s outstanding research presentation, as well as those of the other presenters. He is very deserving of this honor and I congratulate him for being selected for recognition from such a competent group of his peers.”

Sheede Khalil DMD 12 was presented with the American College of Dentists (ACD) Senior Student Award at a luncheon held on Saturday, January 28, at Yankee Dental Congress 37. Khalil was selected because of her outstanding achievements in academics, leadership, and initiative.

Khalil came to GSDM as a technical assistant in the lab of Associate Dean for Research Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska in 2005. From her research work at the School of Dental Medicine she was inspired to apply for the DMD program. She was accepted and began dental school in the Fall of 2008.

Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter said, “Dr. Kukuruzinska was so very impressed with the work of Sheede that I know she played a key role in convincing her to pursue a career in dental medicine, and Maria, I thank you for doing that.”

As a student, Khalil is still very much involved in research. She has been awarded a research fellowship from the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation, is the winner of the AADR’s Hutton competition, and has participated in various student research poster presentations. To date, she has authored or co-authored 11 abstracts pertaining to her research and also co-authored, with Dr. Kukuruzinska, a paper titled “Diverse Roles of E-cadherin in the Morphogenesis of the Submandibular Gland: Insights into the Formation of Acinar and Ductal Structures,” that appeared in a 2008 issue of the Journal of Developmental Dynamics.

During Sheede’s four years at GSDM, she has been an active member of the American Association for Dental Research, the International Association for Dental Research, and the Massachusetts Dental Society. She is also involved in community outreach and is an active volunteer with the BU chapters of ASDA, SNDA, HSDA, and the Student Research Group. In addition, during her recent externship rotation she helped put together a unique outreach program that takes place in local barbershops.

Dean Hutter added, “Since first being introduced to Sheede by Dr. Kukuruzinska six years ago, I have been continually impressed with her intelligence, dedication, motivation, can-do attitude, and wonderful personality. She is truly deserving of this award and I congratulate her on all that she has accomplished.”

Danielle Culp DMD 12 and Lauren Greco DMD 12 traveled to Panama with Northeast Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (NEVOSH) from January 19 to 30. The NEVOSH group has a core following of GSDM alumni volunteers: Christina Thompson DMD 06; Elizabeth Walker DMD 06, ORTHO 10; Joey Alamo DMD 06; and Steve Machardy DMD 07, and each year two students from GSDM are selected to accompany them.

This year the NEVOSH group made the decision to switch things up, traveling to Panama instead of Nicaragua, and after a successful week and a half of outreach they plan to return. The group had lots of fun and managed to squeeze in a tour of the Panama Canal and the President’s Mansion. But they also worked incredibly hard, treating patients in three locations: Bocas del Toro, Bastimentos, and Bocas Town—where a great deal of their outreach was focused on the very-poor indigenous population, who reside in huts in a local mangrove swamp.

In each location they set up a screening area, 12 extraction chairs, 2 restoration chairs, and 1 oral hygiene chair. Chairs were school chairs with wrap-around desks that the dentists used to lay out their instruments. Helpers held the patient’s heads and also lights, while five dentists rotated between the extraction chairs and two dentists worked on restorations.

Said Culp, “We saw patients from nine in the morning until between five and seven at night, working at a very fast pace. We did a ton of extractions, moving quickly from one patient to the next. The NEVOSH group was amazing. Everyone worked extremely hard.”

She continued, “The trip really helped me become more confident in performing extractions and in working more efficiently when restoring a tooth. I probably extracted 50 teeth in one day, which is an experience I would never have had in private practice or at school.”

Greco added, “You are working long hours and it’s hard but you don’t care. You just want to be able to keep seeing patients, keep helping people.”

She continued, describing how grateful the patients were: “People are sitting at a school desk, spitting into a trash can, with someone holding their head and shining a light in their face. You basically climb on top of them and remove a tooth out of their mouth. Then they get up and smile, shake your hand, and thank you.”

Both students noted that most of the populations they treated had no access to care or if they did it was out of reach financially. Greco said, “Most of the kids had never been to a dentist and had no idea how to take care of their teeth. In Bocas Town it cost $3 to have a tooth pulled by an area dentist, but most people can’t afford it. Learning that really put what we were doing into perspective.”

Through hard work, long hours, and in some areas, going door-to-door when they arrived to notify residents of the free dental care they would be providing, they were able to treat 750 patients— the most of any NEVOSH mission.

Photos are available on facebook.

On January 27, alumni, faculty, staff, and students came together at the annual alumni reception held during Yankee Dental Congress 2012, at the Seaport World Trade Center. The reception is an annual, informal event that provides an opportunity for members of the GSDM community to reconnect.

“This year we had another large turnout at the Yankee Dental Congress Alumni Reception,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “Kathy and I were delighted to see so many familiar faces and also to have the opportunity to speak with some alums that we haven’t seen in a while. It is truly a pleasure to learn about the wonderful strides our alumni are making in the field of dental medicine. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Also at the reception Dean Hutter announced that the School will use next year’s Yankee Dental Congress to launch a year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of its founding by Dr. Goldman in 1963. Dean Hutter also introduced Dr. Thomas Kilgore, who will chair the Planning Committee for the 50th Anniversary Celebration, and Dr. Carl McNanama who will serve as YDC Program Committee Chair for the 2013 Yankee Dental Congress.

Photos are available on facebook and flickr.

The Inaugural Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine Research Retreat was held on February 2, in the Hiebert Lounge. The Retreat was put on by the Office of the Associate Dean for Research, and Associate Dean for Research Maria Kukuruzinska served as host. The event included updates on research from many departments within GSDM, a session of Elevator Pitches by six of the School’s researchers, poster presentations, and an open discussion and brainstorming session about the future of research at GSDM. Drs. Kukuruzinska, Miklos Sahin-Toth, and Yoshiyuki Mochida served as moderators for the event.

Dr. Kukuruzinska started the day off by welcoming all of the attendees and said, “I am pleased to see all of you in attendance at our first Research Retreat. I think you will find that we have a wide variety of presentations planned for today, and that we have a very diverse turnout. Today will be a great learning opportunity as well as a chance to introduce yourself to other researchers who you may not have met previously.” Dr. Kukuruzinska also thanked her staff for their hard work putting together the event, especially Operations Manager Barbara Pyke.

Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter also welcomed the group and talked about how excited he was for this event. He said, “Dr. Kukuruzinska serves as our Applied Strategic Plan Goal Champion for Research, and as such she has made excellent strides toward making the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine a premier institute for research. She has staffed the Office of the Associate Dean for Research with excellent people, and I could not be more pleased with the program that they have put together for us today. I look forward to this becoming an annual event.”

Photos are available on facebook and flickr.