Science Day 2011 Highlights Salivary Gland Development
March 24, marked the 2011 Science Day. Chief of the Matrix and Morphogenesis Unit in the Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Biology at NIDCR Dr. Matthew P. Hoffman was the keynote speaker. He presented a lecture titled, “Salivary Gland Development Provides a Rationale for Glandular Regeneration,” to interested students, staff, and faculty members.
“Dr. Hoffman’s work has been seminal to our understanding of the key regulatory mechanisms involved in salivary cell differentiation,” said Associate Dean for Research Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska. “Moreover, it was the first to identify interactions among epithelial, neuronal, and mesenchymal cells as critical to salivary gland development. His findings provide a basis for studies of other tissues that develop through branching morphogenesis and will serve as a template for future salivary gland regeneration.”
Pre and postdoctoral students, as well as postdoctoral fellows, also presented their research in both poster and oral formats. The winners of this year’s Science Day include:
Dentsply Award
Mahesh Sadhnani, Dr. Paula K. Friedman. Department of General Dentistry: ”Oral Health Care Disparities and Access to Care Among Older Adults.“
1st Place, Predoctoral Student Poster
Insun Yoon, Mey Al-Habib, Dr. George T. J. Huang. Department of Endodontics: “3D Model of Dental Stem Cell Attachment to MTA.”
1st Place, Postdoctoral Student Poster
Glena Millan, Moaz Attar, Dr. Dan Nathanson. Department of Restorative Sciences/Biomaterials: “Primer and Aging Effect on Resin Cements Bond to Zirconia.”
1st Place, Postdoctoral Fellow Poster
Siddiqa S. Sume, Dr. Manish Bais, Dr. Philip C. Trackman. Department of Periodontology & Oral Biology: “CCN2/CTGF Regulation of Collagen Deposition in Human Gingival Fibroblasts.”
1st Place, Predoctoral Student Oral Presentation
Sonia Kim, Dr. Henry Margolis, Dr. Seo-Young Kwak. Department of Biomineralization at Forsyth Institute: “Protein-mediated Biomineralization: The role of Amelogenin in Dental Enamel Formation.”
1st Place, Postdoctoral Student Oral Presentation
Maram Zamakhchari, Dr. Guoxian Wei, Dr. F Dewhirst, Dr. Frank G. Oppenheim, Dr. Eva Helmerhorst. Department of Periodontology & Oral Biology: “Fragmentation of Immunogenic Gluten Domains by Oral Microorganisms.”
Winners will be honored at the upcoming Science Day Awards Luncheon on April 6.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska and her staff for putting together such a comprehensive event, which not only featured cutting-edge research, but also served as a platform for our students to share their research interests with one another and with the GSDM community as a whole,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “It was once again a wonderful day of science for everyone involved.”
Student Affairs also held a vendor fair at the Dental School in conjunction with Science Day where the GSDM community could meet with vendors to check out new equipment, sample products, and gather information on the latest innovations in dental practice. And as a close to the day the Student Research Group held a social where they served pizza and students gathered to discuss the research they had presented and learned about over the course of the day.
Photos from the day’s events are available on facebook and flickr.