GSDM Students Staff and Faculty Participate In 5K To Fight Oral Cancer
On October 4, 2015, members of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) community met near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton to participate in the 9th annual Oral Cancer Foundation’s Walk/Run for Awareness.
The GSDM team was coordinated by the Boston University chapter of the American Student Dental Association (BU ASDA), specifically, students Erin O’Conner DMD 17, Lana Le DMD 16, Zack Snider DMD 18, and Debbie Desravines DMD 17. The team was composed of students, faculty, and staff.
“This event was a great way for BU ASDA to get involved with the community of Boston and raise awareness for a very relevant cause,” said Chair of BU ASDA’s Health and Wellness Committee Erin Hersey.
This is the first year that GSDM has fielded a team to participate in the Oral Cancer Foundation’s Walk/Run for Awareness.
The faculty and staff that participated in the event were members of the Oral Cancer Research initiative (OCRI), a focused multidisciplinary collaborative that brings together basic scientists, clinicians, public health researchers, engineers, chemists and computational biologists to work on diverse issues related to oral cancer.
Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Cell Biology, and Director of the OCRI Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska also participated in the event.
“This event served as a timely reminder of the terrible toll that oral cancer takes on patients and their families,” said Dr. Kukuruzinska “It was also, however, an inspiring day that underlined for all of us the importance of the research we are undertaking”.
Together, the GSDM walkers and runners raised more than $800 for the Oral Cancer Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to reducing oral cancer suffering and saving lives through prevention, education, research, advocacy, and patient support activities. Among all participants, the Walk/Run for Awareness raised more than $23,000.
Two participants of the GSDM team also placed high in the race standings. Zack Snider DMD 18 won the overall race and Erin Hersey DMD 17 came in second place for females.
“I am very proud of the GSDM community members who participated in the Oral Cancer Foundation’s Walk/Run for Awareness, helping to raise more than $800!” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter.
Photos from the event can be found on Facebook and Flickr.
The GSDM team included:
Students:
Matthew Orlando DMD 19; Erin Hersey DMD 17; Zachary Snider DMD 18; Christopher Unger DMD 17; Heather McDade DMD 17; Elaine Wu DMD 19; Edith Lin DMD 19; Charles Lewis DMD 18; Andrew Sweeny DMD 17; Jade Pedersen DMD 17; Stephen Brand DMD 19; Kelsey Wilcox DMD 17; Alex Foor DMD 19; Lana Le DMD 16; Annie Geng DMD 17; Jonathan Kuang DMD 17; Joanna Song DMD 17; Lok Ching (Jimmy) Li DMD 17; Tiphannie Yin DMD 17; Bo Chao (William) Wang DMD 17; Lihsin (Lee) Wu DMD 17
Faculty/Staff/OCRI Members:
Professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology and Associate Dean for Research Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska; Associate Director of Research Ms. Barbara Pyke and her husband Mr. Robert Mauro; Research Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the Boston University School of Medicine Dr. Jennifer Cappione and her daughter Tessa Cappione