Research Day

2022

On May 13, 2022, Penn Dental Medicine continued its tradition of hosting a number of passionate students and esteemed faculty members to present their research at Research Day 2022. This Research Day was especially exciting given that it was the first Research Day that was held in person since May of 2019. Select portions of the day were also offered to view via live simulcast, allowing individuals to learn about the extensive research being done here at Penn Dental Medicine from the comfort of their own home!

Research Day 2022 had a packed schedule beginning with a welcome breakfast and speech delivered by Dean Mark S. Wolff and Vice Dean for Scholarship and Research Dana T. Graves. Following this, the morning was filled with a number of exciting faculty presentations during which faculty members at Penn Dental presented their projects. Presenters included Dr. Robert R. Ricciardi from the Department of Basic and Translational Sciences and Dr. Sinem Esra Sahingur from the Department of Periodontics. During the latter half of the day, a poster presentation and competition was held during which time DMD, faculty, and junior investigator research was represented. A number of awards were presented at the conclusion of the poster presentation competition including the AADOCR Research Day Award, the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) Award, and the Penn Dental Medicine AADOCR Travel Award.

Xuejing Xu (D’24) was the recipient for the SCADA award for her project “In-Vitro Strength Degradation of In-house Two-step sintered High-strength 3-Yttria-Partially Stabilized Zirconia” which was conducted under the guidance of faculty member Dr. Yu Zhang from the Division of Dentistry, Preventative & Restorative Sciences. When asked about what prompted her interest in research Xuejing stated, “Knowing that PDM boasts various research opportunities and cutting-edge technology in dentistry, I attended the virtual research exposition held by VBRS shortly after school started. Out of curiosity about dental materials, I reached out to Dr. Zhang and was, fortunately, able to join his lab in my first semester at PDM. With the help of all the lab members, I was introduced to many materials and techniques that were not covered in the curriculum. During the semester, I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the lab and reading papers, and I was able to participate in basic material handling and sample preparation. Dr. Zhang and all my mentors helped me tremendously with my summer research project. They guided me through the project design and assisted me step by step during the whole experiment process. They not only showed me all the research techniques but also taught me how to interpret all my data and how to apply them to clinical situations.” Xuejing also explained the basis of her project that won her the SCADA award: “In my project, we applied the two-step sintering method during the in-house fabrication of Zpex (3Y zirconia) and analyzed the effect of strength degradation on these samples when compared to conventionally sintered ones. The two-step sintering process is characterized by a high first-step sintering temperature and a lower second-step sintering temperature, which reduces the grain size and creates a uniform microstructure in the product. We introduced controlled flaws onto the samples with the Vickers indentation technique. The strength of the samples was then determined by the biaxial flexural test. We found out that the two-step sintering process improves the intrinsic strength of Zpex but makes the material less resilient to contact damage when compared to the conventional sintering technique.” This award was a significant accomplishment for Xuejing. She said, “Receiving the SCADA reward was the cherry on top of my fulfilling research experience. This award further fueled my passion for student research and my commitment to innovation in dentistry. I am forever grateful for this opportunity and all the help I received from my lab.”