Research
Brazilian Dentist Conducting Fulbright Fellowship at the College Delayed but not stopped by the pandemic, a dentist from Brazil is conducting a Fulbright research fellowship at the college, where he’s investigating novel nanofilled tooth-bleaching agents – one of the most common cosmetic procedures performed in dental offices – with the aim of developing and characterizing novel materials that do not compromise the tooth structure. Dr. Matheus Kury Rodrigues, D.D.S., M.S., was one of only 26 Brazilian Ph.D. candidates from that country granted a Fulbright Award to study in the United States in 2020.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored through the U.S. government. Designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, the program provides participants (chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential) the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Currently, the Fulbright Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. Since its inception in 1946, over 400,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated in the program.
“The Division of Dental Biomaterials is very proud to have such a strong collaboration with the Department of Dental Materials from the State University of Campinas School of Dentistry at Piracicaba, Brazil,” said Division Head of Dental Biomaterials Fernando Esteban Florez, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. “During his visit, Dr. Kury will be working on the synthesis, characterization and testing of experimental dental bleaching agents containing bioactive metaloxide nanoparticles developed by Dr. Sharukh Khajotia [associate dean for research and innovation at the college] and myself. We are very happy to have Dr. Kury working with us, he is a brilliant young investigator and we are confident that his work will be perceived as a very strong and meaningful contribution to the field of dental biomaterials.”
Th e U n i v e r s i t y o f O k l a h o m a C o l l e g e o f D e n t i s t r y / 2 0 22 M a g a z i n e
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