Explorer, Winter 2023

PENN DENTAL MEDICINE VERNON BRIGHTMAN RESEARCH SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

A MESSAGE FROM VBRS PRESIDENT

Dear Penn Dental Medicine,

It is my honor to introduce the Winter 2023 edition of PDM Explorer from the Vernon Brightman Research Society (VBRS). As the primary student research organization at Penn Dental Medicine as well as PDM’s chapter of the National Student Research Group (NSRG) of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR), VBRS serves as a bridge between research here at PDM and the student body. Named in honor of Vernon J. Brightman, a former Penn Dental Medicine faculty and strong supporter of student research, VBRS has continued his legacy for over 20 years. We take great pride in promoting interest and participation in the basic science and clinical research at the forefront of the dental profession. In this eleventh edition of PDM Explorer, we proudly share our passion and efforts to promote student involvement in research here at Penn Dental Medicine.

To kick off the fall semester, we held our annual Research Speed Dating Event virtually. With student mentors involved in basic and translational sciences, clinical and public health research, we were able to demonstrate a small fraction of how vast dental research expands. As technology and innovation advances, the scope of research is broadened, and our student panel reflected that diversity. In this event, we highlighted how our students are involved in research across multiple disciplines and this list continues to grow every year.

After three years of being unable to because of the global pandemic, we finally brought back our Annual Student/Faculty Research Mixer in person this year. With an attendance of over 60 student and faculty participants, we were able to facilitate networking and collaboration to develop and expand student research here at PDM. We hope to carry the excitement and success of our first in-person event since 2019 into years of promoting and diversifying student research here at Penn Dental Medicine.

In this edition of PDM Explorer, you will have the opportunity to see how the students and faculty at PDM embody the mission of the Vernon Brightman Research Society and continue to drive the most cutting-edge advances in the dental profession. We hope to share our passion with you and work further to promote student involvement in research. We thank you for your constant support and hope you enjoy our Winter 2023 edition of PDM Explorer

Sincerely,

THAKORE D’24 VBRS President

Vernon Brightman Research Society Executive Board

The Vernon Brightman Research Society (VBRS) Executive Board members for the current academic year include the following individuals. They invite students with an interest in research to join VBRS.

PRESIDENT: Chintan Thakore D’24 (1)

VICE PRESIDENT: Matthew Hershberger D’24 (2)

TREASURER: Gloria Wan D’24 (3)

SECRETARY: Wendy Lei D’24 (4)

EVENTS DIRECTOR: Srighana Nadella D’25 (5)

OUTREACH COORDINATOR: Pankti Rana D’25 (6)

DIRECTOR OF NEWSLETTER: Simran Grewal D’25 (7)

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Jessica Hao D’26 (8)

D2 REPRESENTATIVE: Teny Odaimi D’25 (9)

D1 REPRESENTATIVES: Issa Elabed (10), Julie Hong (11), Regina Lekumovich (12), Kevin Tao D’26 (13)

VBRS is the primary student research organization at Penn Dental Medicine. Named in honor of Dr. Vernon J. Brightman, a former PDM faculty member and proponent of student research, VBRS has created opportunities and gathered resources for students to help find their niche in research. The society promotes interest, participation, and appreciation of basic and clinical oral health research that keeps dentistry a science and research-based profession. VBRS is PDM’s chapter of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) National Student Research Group. Dr. Kang Ko, Associate Professor in the Department of Periodontics, is the VBRS faculty advisor.

This newsletter highlights students’ research accomplishments, past and upcoming events, and student and faculty interviews.

UPCOMING EVENTS

VBRS PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP

On January 26th, VBRS hosted our annual proposal writing workshop to aid students applying to the Summer Research Program and Research Honors. Dr. Kang Ko will explain the different components and requirements of the proposal. Anyone interested in applying to these programs should plan on attending this workshop.

ACCE DAY 2023

The 2nd annual Advances in Clinical Care and Education Day (ACCE) will take place on May 11th, 2023. This event will showcase PDM’s initiatives in clinical care, education and community outreach. ACCE day was created to celebrate the great amount of clinical and educational achievements at PDM. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear about the clinical accomplishments of students and faculty.

RESEARCH DAY 2023

On May 10th, 2023, PDM will come together for Research Day to celebrate student and faculty research. The event will be held in-person this year with select portions available as a live simulcast. This exciting event will be filled with numerous presentations given by faculty and guest speakers, as well as poster sessions from students in the Summer Research Program and Research Honors. Furthermore, student and junior research will be recognized with the selection of the 2023 AADOCR Travel Grants. Research Day is a great all-day event to learn about the innovative research that is going on in the school.

RESEARCH SPEED DATING EVENT

The annual VBRS Research Speed Dating event took place virtually on September 21st, 2022. This event allotted students at PDM the opportunity to speak with other students involved with research both inside and outside of the dental school. The student research panel consisted of students with a variety of research experiences such as the summer research program, research honors, independent projects, etc. This event served as an excellent resource to students interested in pursuing research during their time at PDM.

Research Speed Dating Panel

RESEARCH HONORS

Chintan Thakore D’24 cthakore@upenn.edu

SUMMER RESEARCH

Stephanie Dominguez D’25 sdomin@upenn.edu

Steven Fredeen D’25 sfredeen@dental.upenn.edu

Gloria Wan D’24 agwan@upenn.edu

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Wendy Lei D’24 leiwlei@upenn.edu

DUAL DEGREE

Yilan Miao D’23 yilan@dental.upenn.edu

PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH

Alexandra Schroeder alliess@upenn.edu

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH

Srighana Nadella D’25 srighana@dental.upenn.edu

Matthew Hershberger D’24 hershbmw@upenn.edu

VBRS Faculty/Student Research Mixer

VBRS held our annual Faculty/ Student Research Mixer on 11/02 at the Schattner Pavillion at PDM. The event featured numerous renowned PDM faculty members who are currently performing research and students were given the opportunity to interact directly with faculty to ask them questions about their work. This event was a huge success and allowed PDM students to learn about the variety of research opportunities available at the school.

Faculty featured at the event: Dr. Alicia Risner-Bauman, Dr. Justin Burrell, Dr. Henry Daniell, Dr. Katherine France, Dr. Dana Graves, Dr. Hyeran Helen Jeon, Dr. Kang Ko, Dr. Su-Min Lee, Dr. Ioana Matei, Dr. Claire Mitchell, Dr. Miriam Robbins, Dr. Esra Sahingur, Dr. Katherine Theken, Dr. Kyle Vining, Dr. Qunzhou Zhang

STUDENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS // Requirements and Deadlines

SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM

Students work full-time from July 5th, 2023–August 4th, 2023 with a faculty preceptor in basic laboratory or clinical sciences. The purpose of this program is to provide dental students experience with hands-on research and introduce the possibility of pursuing a research-oriented career in the oral health field. Summer research students are required to present a poster at the Research Day event.

REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY:

• Complete the application

• Research proposal

• Good academic standing

• Availability to conduct research full-time and attend weekly research meetings

APPLICATION DUE DATE: March 28, 2023

CONTACT:

Dr. Esra Sahingur

Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Student Research sahingur@upenn.edu

MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.dental.upenn.edu/ research/student-research/ summer-research-program/

https://www.dental.upenn.edu/ research/student-research/ summer-2022-studentresearchers/

Summer Research Program Application: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/ form/876df5fb267f4d3b8ef9 ba079dc341f1

BASIC & TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH HONORS PROGRAM

The Honors in Research Program is open to students in their first or second year at PDM. Students will plan, implement, and execute a hypothesis-driven research project over a one- or twoyear period. All honors scholars participate in Research Day during which they must present a poster. In addition, they are required to write a Research Honors thesis.

REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY:

• Complete the application

• 1st or 2nd year student

• Minimum undergraduate science GPA of 3.5

• Minimum GPA of 3.25 in every semester of dental school

• Letter of recommendation of past or present research supervisor

• Thorough research proposal

• Timeline for project completion

APPLICATION DUE DATE:

December 5, 2022

CONTACT:

Dr. Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia Director of Honors Program battagli@upenn.edu

MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.dental.upenn.edu/ research/student-research/ research-honors-program/

LEONARD DAVIS INSTITUTE SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

In collaboration with the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and the Health Care Management Department of the Wharton School, PDM offers a fellowship for students interested in working on a health services or health policy research project during the summer between their first and second year of dental school. At the conclusion of the 10-12 week program, students present their research findings to faculty, staff, and fellow participants.

APPLICATION DUE DATE: March 1, 2023

CONTACT:

Margaret Yang, MseD Director of Student Affairs and Engagement, Penn Dental Medicine xiaojiao@upenn.edu

MORE INFORMATION: https://ldi.upenn.edu/ education/penn-ldi-trainingprograms/ldi-penn-dentalsummer-health-servicesresearch-fellowship/

DUAL DEGREE

Students interested in pursuing a dual-degree program must submit an application to the PDM Dual-Degree Admissions Committee. The current dual-degree options are Master of Bioethics, Science in Bioengineering, Law, Science in Higher Education, Public Health, and Science in Translational Research. Each program has different admissions standards.

MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.dental.upenn.edu/ admissions-academics/dmdprogram/dual-degree-options/

AADR

2023 AADOCR/CADR

Annual Meeting & Exhibition will be held on March 15-18, 2023 in Portland, Oregon. The event will include oral and poster presentations, distinguished lecture series, and an exhibit hall. Students may submit abstracts of their research to be considered. Accepted students will present their research poster at the symposium.

ABSTRACT DUE DATE: October 19, 2022

MORE INFORMATION: https://www.aadocr. org/2023aaam

If you are interested in pursuing research, please fill out the Research Opportunities Request form: www.dental.upenn.edu/ researchoppsrequest

Matthew

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH?

I conducted a pilot in-vitro study to measure and compare the accuracy of full-arch digital implant impressions with intraoral scanning and photogrammetry systems. In particular, I investigated Denstply Sirona’s Primescan intra-oral scanner, Imetric’s ICam4D photogrammetry system and PIC dental’s PIC photogrammetry system. Essentially, I compared how accurately each technique recorded the positions of implants on a reference mandible.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM?

Most of the information I learned as a D1 centered around the basic sciences and foundational dental concepts. By the end of D1, I wanted to expand my horizons and immerse myself in more modern and clinically relevant topics. Dentistry is like its own language, and the more you are surrounded by it, the more fluent you become. By doing research with Dr. Conejo, I knew that I would become more fluent in digital and implant dentistry- two fields I find interesting. I saw summer research as an opportunity to bridge my theoretical knowledge of dentistry to a more clinical situation. Ultimately, partaking in summer research allowed me to maximize my time at PDM in hopes of becoming a more competent clinician in the future.

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE PRESENTING AT THE GREATER NY DENTAL MEETING? HOW DID YOU GET THIS OPPORTUNITY?

I became aware of the Greater New York Dental meeting after receiving an email from Dr. Sahingur towards the end of the summer. She encouraged us to apply and try to present. After sending out my abstract, I was lucky enough to be one of the seven students who were accepted from Penn. The meeting’s atmosphere reflected the reputation of New York City — big, all encompassing, and diverse. There were dentists, dental students, hygienists, and assistants, as well as vendors from all over the United States and the world presenting and selling anything you could possibly think of relating to dentistry. Ultimately, the GNYDM was a great experience and opportunity to meet and network with many individuals within our professional field. While this may sound intense and intimidating, the atmosphere of the presentation was overall very relaxed. Even if you aren’t presenting, I would recommend dropping by the GNYDM.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF AN EFFECTIVE RESEARCHER?

To be an effective researcher, you need to have three crucial skills: communication, flexibility, and patience. In my experience, experiments rarely go right the first time and will take a significant amount of time. When things deviate from ideal, it is important to not rush the process and instead do some out of the box thinking to get back on track. In addition, effective communication between you and your PI, or with other labs, is crucial for moving projects along in a timely manner.

FUN FACT?

I can make Minute Rice in 57 seconds.

Lee, D’25 GNYDM Presenter

“Dentistry is like its own language, and the more you are surrounded by it, the more fluent you become.”

MATTHEW LEE, D’25

SUMMER RESEARCH STUDENTS

SANDRA AVILA

Analyzing intrinsic strength and translucency parameter of Novel Glass Ceramics

Faculty advisor: Yu Zhang

KELSEY BUSCH

Modulatory roles of primary cilia biogenesis in orofacial stem cell responsiveness to irradiation

Faculty advisor: Sunday Akintoye

FIONNA CHAN

The Effect of NF-kappaB in Mesenchymal Stem Cells During Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Faculty advisor: Helen Jeon

STEPHANIE DOMINGUEZ

A 3D-Printed Customizable Platform for Dynamic Studies of Oral Biofilms

Faculty advisor: Geelsu Hwang

STEPHANIE FERRER

The Effect of Yttria Gradient Composition on Flexural Strength of Printed Zirconia

Faculty advisor: France Mante and Michael Bergler

LINDSAY FISHER

The Effect of Aging on Mesenchymal Stem Cells Response during Maxillary Expansion

Faculty advisor: Helen Jeon

STEVEN FREDEEN

Direct Experimental Validations of VFEM

Stress Analysis of PVZ and PVLD Crowns

Faculty advisor: Yu Zhang

SIMRAN GREWAL

Comparing the Immunomodulatory Functions of Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Gingiva-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell (GMSC) and Neural Crest Stem Cell (NCSC) on Macrophage Polarization

Faculty advisor: Qunzhou Zhang

SARA HA

The role of NF-kB in mesenchymal stem cells during tensile force-induced bone remodeling

Faculty advisor: Helen Jeon

MIRA-BELLE HADDAD

White Spot Lesion Reduction with the use of Chloroplast-made enzymes infused Chewing Gum

Faculty advisor: Henry Daniell

CHELSEA HERR

Skeletal and Dental Manifestations of Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Clinical Presentation and Determinants for Orthodontic Intervention

Faculty advisor: Hyun-Duck Nah-Cederquist

MEGAN HUNG

The Effect of Fisetin on Senescence Markers in Gingival Keratinocytes

Faculty advisor: Esra Sahingur

NINA IRADI

Do Diurnal Rhythms Modulate Pain Perception Induced by Third-Molar Extraction?

Faculty advisor: Katherine Theken

DANA KOST

Acceptance of HPV/COVID

Vaccines from Dentists

Faculty advisor: Katherine France

MATTHEW LEE

In vitro comparative study between fullarch implant level impressions with intraoral scanning systems – a pilot study

Faculty advisor: Julian Conejo

KRISTEN LEE

Effect of Intracanal Medicaments on Survival of Stem Cells of Apical Papilla

Faculty advisor: Sumin Lee

CHARLOTTE LENES

Investigating the role of epithelial origin in peri-implant tissue attachment and health

Faculty advisor: Kang Ko

NEDA MAHJOUR

Effect of B and T Cell Inhibitor

Biological Agents on Oral Health

Faculty advisor: Katherine France

TRENTON MARSHALL

Nanog/Pgc1α Regulates Mitochondrial Respiration for Craniofacial Tissue Homeostasis

Faculty advisor: Chider Chen

KATHRYN MASON

TET2-mediated clonal hematopoiesis effects on T lymphocytes

Faculty advisor: George Hajishengallis

RYAN NOSEWORTHY

Exploring the effects of layering techniques on the strength of novel gradient zirconia

Faculty advisor: Yu Zhang

TENY ODAIMI

Effect of hydrodynamic conditions on biofilm formation

Faculty advisor: Geelsu Hwang

ELEANOR RHODEHAMEL

Trafficking of LtxA in Human Monocytes, Implications for Aggressive Periodontitis

Faculty advisor: Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia

ANDREA RICCOBONO

Infection Control of Regenerative Endodontic Procedures: Effectiveness of All-in-One Irrigating Solution

Faculty advisor: Sumin Lee

SHIVANI SHAH

The Effects of Interleukin Inhibitors on Oral Health

Faculty advisor: Katherine France

JESSICA TAN

The Effect of Zeolite Incorporation on the Longterm Antibacterial and Anticariogenic Properties of Silver-Reinforced Glass Ionomer Cement

Faculty advisor: Fusun Ozer

NILA VEERABAGU

Oral and Dental Status of Patients taking TNF-Antagonists

Faculty advisor: Katherine France

DAVID WALL

Investigation of Systemic Inflammatory Markers in Blood Plasma Collected from Dental Implant Surgery Patients Treated with OTC Naproxen-Sodium (Aleve) or Acetaminophen

Faculty advisor: Katherine Theken

CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH HONORS

WENDY LEI

HUM Brush Study: effectiveness of a smartphone app in promoting autonomy in autistic children with brushing

Faculty Advisors: Eugene Ko, Michelle Shuster, Katherine France, Pat Corby

CERJAY LUGTU

FIRE Trial: real time pain symptoms in the burning mouth syndrome patient

Faculty Advisors: Eugene Ko, Michelle Shuster, Pat Corby

BASIC & TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE HONORS STUDENTS

THAO (ROSEMARY) DO

IL33 deletion in fibroblasts and its impacts on oral wound healing

Faculty advisor: Kang Ko

JULIE HONG

Regulation of the Epithelial Barrier Function via FOXO1/B-catenin/E-cadherin

Faculty advisors: Dana Graves, Helen Jeon

ANDREW MACELROY

Assessment of natural lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside in Aggregatibacter

actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) induced toxicity

Faculty advisor: Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia

PANKTI RANA

Characterization of Soft Tissue

Calcifications in a Diabetic Cohort

Faculty advisor: Adeyinka Dayo

BENJAMIN SHELLING

The effect of nanoscale delivery of quercetin in periodontal disease

Faculty advisor: Esra Sahingur

STUDENT PRESENTATIONS AT CONFERENCES

JAIME GUBERMAN

CBCT Usage in Post-Graduate Orthodontic Programs

2022 Greater New York Dental Meeting, November 25-30, 2022 (New York City, New York)

MATTHEW LEE

In Vitro Comparative Study Between Full-arch Abutment Level Implant Impressions with Different Intraoral Scanning Methods – A Pilot Study

2022 Greater New York Dental Meeting, November 25-30, 2022 (New York City, New York)

ALEXANDER LI

Do Urban Patients Have Selection Preferences for Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Based on Race?

2022 Greater New York Dental Meeting, November 25-30, 2022 (New York City, New York)

YILAN MIAO

The Impact of Novel Alveolar Bone Graft Materials on Orthodontic Tooth Movement: A Review

2022 Greater New York Dental Meeting, November 25-30, 2022 (New York City, New York)

BENJAMIN SHELLING

TLR9 Mediates Periodontal Aging by Fostering Senescence and Inflammaging

2022 Greater New York Dental Meeting, November 25-30, 2022 (New York City, New York)

NILA VEERABAGU

Oral and Dental Status of Patients taking Biologic Agents

2022 Greater New York Dental Meeting, November 25-30, 2022 (New York City, New York)

KANG KO, DMD, DScD

Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontics

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background before coming to Penn Dental?

I graduated from UC San Diego with my bachelors and masters degree before coming to Penn Dental to get my DMD degree. I received my Periodontics training as well as my Doctor of Science degree from PDM and eventually became a faculty member here in 2021. At the time I knew I wanted to do research, I was deciding between pursuing a PhD and dentistry. I was leaning towards a PhD initially, but my mentor at the time who was also a periodontist guided me towards a path where you can combine clinical expertise and research at the same time, and that is what drove me towards this profession.

I have had excellent mentors throughout my education and while in dental school I went through the summer research program and the research honors program. From that aspect I have been a part of student research for a long time both as a student and as a faculty member.

Can you talk about what your ongoing research projects are?

My research right now is heavily involved in periodontology. I’m mainly looking at the wound healing processes and contrasting it to other parts of the body. As a periodontist, one of the things that we are lucky to have is that anything that we do surgically in the mouth typically heals very well with minimal scarring when compared to other parts of the body. There is quite a bit of opportunity from a biological perspective that we can uncover to understand why the oral cavity heals so fast.

I am particularly focusing on fibroblasts, which traditionally has been known as a boring cell type that just secretes extracellular matrix and is there to hold on to structures, but it turns out they are heavily involved in immune regulation and other pathologies. How special they are in the oral cavity with respect to why these wounds in the oral cavity heal so fast is something that is less explored. That is the basic focus of the lab—to understand how fibroblast biology in the oral cavity differs from other parts of the body and how we can take advantage of it therapeutically.

It is important to emphasize that we are dentists but we are also at an institution where we connect the mouth and the body. We extend our studies to other disciplines so another thing that we’re focusing on is how skin fibroblasts modulate immunity in the skin. We have recently published a paper on how skin fibroblasts are heavily altered in pathologies such as atopic dermatitis and eczema. We are not just limited to the biology in the oral cavity—we’re always trying to connect everything that we see in the oral cavity to other parts of the body and how they differ because ultimately it is one body and we are trying to uncover the differences.

“Research is a huge component in a postdoctoral program— to learn how to read and interpret papers and what other people have published is very critical to how you operate as a clinician.”

KANG KO, DMD, DScD

Is your lab open to interested students that would like to participate in your research?

We’re always open to taking students. I have been taking students ever since I was a resident researcher in Dr. Graves lab. Every year as a resident I would have a summer student or research honors student work with me, so I have mentored about 10 students so far. I encourage student involvement in research because I have had that experience and know what it can offer. Research is a huge component in a postdoctoral program—to learn how to read and interpret papers and what other people have published is very critical to how you operate as a clinician.

If you are interested you can always email me and reach out. I always encourage students to present their findings at Research Day and get exposure to the world of research by attending national research conferences. If anyone is interested they can always email me to talk and see if our interests align.

What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?

Dental school and specializing costs a lot of money and this is a problem that is faced mostly by more recent generations. The problem with academia is there is a huge gap between established senior investigators and junior faculty. Looking at the student loans that you have collected is definitely discouraging, but there are a lot of opportunities to pay off your debt if you are involved in research including intramural student loan forgiveness programs as well as extramural loan forgiveness programs through the NIH. There are also a lot of scholarships from organizations that recognize that this is a problem for the new generation of researchers and academicians to offset some of that burden. That is not a problem that is restricted to me, but for anyone that is considering this type of future. Another challenge that I have faced in my career is the logistics of running the lab including hiring people which has been especially difficult since Covid. It is not a problem that I have overcome yet, but it is in progress.

What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself if you were to restart your dental and research career?

Be willing to learn and be open to opportunities while maintaining good academic standing. As a student your primary goal is to come out of school as a good dentist that cares for patients and is good with their hands. Learn to manage your time. Research is an excellent addition to all of this, but it should not be replacing your regular dental school curriculum.

ALONSO CARRASCO-LABRA, DDS, PhD

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background before coming to Penn Dental?

I am from Chile and am a dentist by training. I moved to Canada to pursue a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and then I completed a PhD in health research methodology. All those postgraduate studies were conducted in a school of medicine and not in a school of dentistry. My goal was to transfer the methods that I learned to oral health and it proved to be very successful as a solution.

While I was doing my PhD I had the opportunity to collaborate with a number of healthcare organizations around the world to work on the development of national clinical practice guidelines and establishment of systems to determine the provision of care through the use of evidence. My area of expertise is to collect the best available evidence to answer a question that can then be derived into a clinical practice guideline or a policy document.

I worked for six years as the director of the Center for Evidence Based Dentistry at the American Dental Association (ADA) where, along with my team, we produced clinical guidelines and helped with the implementation of evidence based dentistry in dental schools and in training clinicians. I came to Penn and now I am a part of the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health (CIGOH). The purpose of this center is to accelerate the creation, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-informed policies and guidelines in oral health, with a global lens. We are going out of the

boundaries of the United States and moving forward with collaborations with global organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), Cochrane, FDI World Dental Federation (FDI), and others.

Can you talk about what your ongoing research projects are?

We are currently working with colleagues from the WHO African office on the definition of a research agenda for implementing the global and regional oral health action plans. In the past two years, the WHO has put oral health on the agenda like never before. Having oral health be a part of these high levels policies is a once in a generation opportunity for us. As a part of this project, we are collaborating on producing several evidence synthesis documents to inform the creation of a research agenda to accelerate the implementation of high-level policies in Africa. This project entails two large scoping reviews, which is a systematic way for us to go through literature and find all available research for a particular research question. One review focuses on understanding the barriers and facilitators for the creation, dissemination, and implementation of oral health policies in Africa. The second scoping review is looking to determine what research output and collaborations have been produced regarding oral health in that region in the past 10 years. We are planning on having a conference in Kenya by the end of 2023 where we will bring all the dental schools of Africa together and some chief dental officers and present the challenges, the future goals, and the barriers to oral health in the area.

We are also conducting a needs assessment with dental schools in Africa. Upon initial research, we were surprised to find that there was no directory of African dental schools available. With the help of our colleagues in Africa, we were able to put together an entire directory of dental schools for the first time. It was fascinating to see all these people come together to create something like this.

Another important series of articles coming out soon are two clinical practice guidelines for the management of acute dental pain, one for children and one for adolescents, adults, and older adults. These are the first evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in this topic ever done and were created through collaboration between researchers from the ADASRI, the University of Pittsburgh, and Penn Dental Medicine. This project is funded by the FDA. These guidelines will now assist patients and clinicians on how to prescribe analgesic medications when talking about acute dental pain. I am very excited to be a primary investigator on this project and work alongside Dr. Deborah Polk (co-PI) and Dr. Elliot Hersh on this transformative project.

Associate Professor, Preventative and Restorative Sciences and Center for Integrative Global Oral Health (CIGOH)

Is your lab open to interested students that would like to participate in your research?

I am always looking for students to join our research team. We benefit tremendously from students working with us. We already have five students working with our group at CIGOH and it has been a fantastic experience. Having students at Penn Dental interacting with researchers and policy makers internationally contributes to a more global vision and this is what research is about: advancing oral health and making friends along the way. We learn from each other as we collaborate with Penn Dental students. They have shown tremendous initiative, so we are learning from them. When students’ contributions meet authorship criteria, they become coauthors in the deliverables (e.g., scientific publications, policy briefs). In addition, they are also able to attend meetings with policy makers, so I encourage any interested students to reach out to our center.

What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?

I have faced several challenges throughout my career. The first challenge would be how to produce research that actually improves patient care and healthcare outcomes. We can produce many research and policy documents, but if they are not accompanied by solid stakeholder engagement and implementation plans, they will be just one more piece of paper published in a journal, changing nobody’s life. Researchers in the field where I work need to be thinking about how these recommendations are translated into true actions and we have not done a good job in that regard.

Researchers need to involve patients and the public in the production of these documents early on and accept that when writing something that is complex it needs to be translated into something that leaves little space for doubts when communicated. The biggest challenge is determining how we really move the needle when creating these policies so they truly impact patient care.

What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself if you were to restart your dental and research career?

If someone has interest in initiating a career in research that means that there should be a genuine curiosity to see the world through the lens of science. They should be ready to explore different areas, go to the lab and interact with individuals and seek alternative perspectives. This is the time to find out which area triggers that spark and curiosity in a way that other areas may not. Once you find that area, it is the time to get serious about it.

If a student is considering research and pursuing academia, it is very important to find a mentor. A mentor is like rocket fuel for anyone’s career. You can get there on your own, but it will take way longer. It is not only that a mentor knows more about the research, but they also have learned about the challenges of conducting research. Having a good mentor is priceless in the early stages of someone’s career.

“In the past 2 years the WHO has put oral health on the agenda like never before. Having oral health be a part of these high levels policies is a once in a generation opportunity for us.”

ALONSO CARRASCOLABRA, DDS, PhD

KYLE VINING, DDS, PhD

Can you tell us a little bit about

your background before coming to Penn Dental?

I originally did biomedical engineering at Northwestern University as an undergrad and knew that I liked working in material science. As an undergrad I did research in a lab for three years and I was discerning between doing medical school or a PhD. It was not until my third year of undergrad that I decided to do dental school because I felt like it offered the career opportunities that I wanted in terms of the flexibility, ranging from specializing to being a private practice owner to research. Dentistry seemed to be the right fit for the type of work that I wanted to do, so I switched to dental during my third year of undergrad and went to the University of Minnesota for dental school. There I was given the opportunity to start research in a material science lab and was able to join a project right away because I was using the same skills that I had learned in college. That was the first time that I was independently driving a project and that was a very exciting experience.

Between my third and fourth year of dental school I joined the medical research scholars program which allowed me to take a year off. At that time I was discerning between pursuing an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) residency and if so if I was going to combine it with research. I wanted to take a year to develop more research training before I left dental school so that I felt that I had a more solid foundation to pursue research alongside OMFS. At the NIH I learned more about cell biology and stem progenitor cells in different tissues.

During my one year fellowship, I had the opportunity to work with a group that studied the role of matrix morphogenesis of stem cells in salivary glands. I did quite a bit of networking that year and that allowed me to connect with a professor at Harvard University who had built up a very strong research program focusing on biomaterials and cell biology spanning many different areas including tissue regeneration, cancer immunotherapy and mechanotherapeutics. At that time I decided that the next step in my career was to focus on my research training at Harvard.

Following graduation from dental school, I transitioned to being a full time PhD student and a part time practicing dentist. One of the nice things about being a dentist is that it did give me funding opportunities. I was eligible to apply for K level awards because of my doctorate degree—I could apply as a PI for an award to fund my research. I was eventually awarded a K award in 2016 and this is what helped me realize that I can pursue research as a professional activity.

My dental experience was interesting from a clinical perspective because during this time I was working on building my technical skills seeing that I was a new grad. After 2-3 years, dentistry became an exciting aspect of my work beyond research. Dentistry was very rewarding during this time because I was able to see the quality of my work improving over time and also made great connections with both my patients and colleagues. When deciding to come to Penn that was one of the things that I was interested in: being able to start my lab, be faculty, and practice at the faculty clinic as well.

Can you talk about what your ongoing research projects are?

My current research program focuses on the role of extracellular matrix on inflammation, particularly how mechanical changes in fibrosis can regulate innate immune cells called monocytes and their inflammatory profile or polarization as well as their differentiation into different subsets of inflammatory cells. We have been studying this in the context of different types of diseases such as bone marrow malignancies associated with fibrosis as well as in oral cancer. We think that the fibrotic changes of these tissues can dramatically affect the immunotherapies in terms of trying to treat a patient’s cancer. One of the major goals of the research is to develop new therapies targeting the mechanical signaling in the white blood cells to try to boost their response and enable a better efficacy of immunotherapies.

The other aspect of my work focuses on the development of biomaterials. I am now trying to study how new types of dental materials interact with pulp cells and help enhance dentin regeneration. This is the work that I started developing during my PhD in terms of developing a new resin monomer system that is biocompatible, but now here at Penn we are trying to

yourself and

Assistant Professor, Preventative and Restorative Sciences, School of Dental Medicine and Department of Materials Science, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

think of new strategies involving bringing nanomaterials and new types of chemistries to develop precision dentistry. We hope to develop a system in which when we place a filling we can not only fill the cavity, but also try to repair the vital pulp tissue as well and deliver therapeutics.

Is your lab open to interested students that would like to participate in your research?

There are definitely opportunities for students wanting to get involved so they can reach out and we can talk about their interests.

What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?

It was really hard to figure out what I wanted to do when I was in dental school. I’m sure other dental students can relate. Dental school is a competitive environment and during second or third year you have to make a decision, but at that time you’ve hardly had any exposure to the specialties and you haven’t been out in practice yet.

At that time in your life you’re pulled in so many different directions and I think that’s why I took a year off. My dean of research at the time had emailed me about the opportunity and I think it was what I needed because I was very confused. Clinically I was very interested in maxillofacial reconstruction, trauma, and malignancy and it was very hard for me to envision how I was also going to pursue my scientific interests while doing such a rigorous program. That was a big challenge for me and taking a gap year was a good way for me to reset and gain clarity about what I wanted to do with my career.

What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself if you were to restart your dental and research career?

I think that dentistry does work well with research in terms of a lifestyle perspective. Our clinic days are manageable if you want to do both. The other nice thing is that there are funding opportunities specifically for dentists that want to pursue research so a PhD is not necessary. Penn Dental is an

extremely diverse environment in terms of research and you can see that people are involved in a wide array of research ranging from more social policy global health research to basic biology research. As a student you have a lot of opportunities to find something.

As a dental student at Penn you are around people who will be leading the profession and taking dentistry into the future and you have the opportunity to be a part of that here. My advice is to take advantage of the opportunities here at Penn and pursue your interests. The key thing is that you don’t know what’s going to come out of a particular opportunity, so expose yourself now. Once you leave the dental school it will be hard to get that exposure, so now is the time to take advantage of your environment and learn from the people around you.

VINING LAB WEBSITE: https://www.dental.upenn.edu/research/ vining-lab/

READ DR. VINING’S MOST RECENT PUBLICATION HERE: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563022-01293-3

“My current research program focuses on the role of extracellular matrix on inflammation, particularly how mechanical changes in fibrosis can regulate innate immune cells called monocytes and their inflammatory profile or polarization as well as their differentiation into different subsets of inflammatory cells.”

KYLE VINING, DDS, PhD

STUDENT INTERVIEW

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH?

My research entailed working with 2 other students, Nila Veerabagu and Neda Mahjour, under the instruction of Dr. France. We wanted to see if biologic agents, drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory conditions, and so forth, had any impact on oral health. Primarily, I focused on the periodontal status of patients on biologics. Overall, we noticed that the rates of periodontal disease and treatment were similar to those from the overall population. However, it was noted that nearly all patients on biologics has some form of periodontal treatment indicating and increased need for treatment. We extracted data from AxiUm on the medical and dental histories of these patients in order to track their caries status, oral manifestations, and periodontal procedures.

WHAT MADE

YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM?

I wanted to get more exposure to the research side of dentistry because everything in D1 year was mostly just building the didactic and pre-clinical skills. Additionally, I saw summer research as an opportunity to get to know a faculty member on a deeper level because it is hard to do that when you are in a class with 150 other people.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO PRESENT YOUR RESEARCH?

Yes! My two other teammates and I will be presenting at AAODCR in March taking place in Portland, Oregon.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF AN EFFECTIVE RESEARCHER?

I think a crucial part of being an effective researcher is being inquisitive. In order to discover something new, it is essential to have a desire to know more about a given topic and further avenues.

FUN FACT?

I used to fly planes recreationally in high school!

2022 DMD STUDENT PUBLICATIONS

BENJAMIN SHELLING D’24

Albuquerque-Souza E, Crump KE, Rattanaprukskul K, Li Y, Shelling B, XiaJuan X, Jiang M, Sahingur SE. TLR9 Mediates Periodontal Aging by Fostering Senescence and Inflammaging. J Dent Res. 2022 Aug 2:220345221110108. doi: 10.1177/00220345221110108. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35918888.

JULIE BERENBLUM D’23 & KYLIE SCHLESINGER D’22

Berenblum JR, Schlesinger KT, Aigbokhan IO, Wolff MS, Gluch JI. Penntorship: The value of mentoring during a pandemic. J Dent Educ. 2022 Apr 13. doi: 10.1002/jdd.12930. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35419834.

YILAN MIAO D’23

Miao Y, Chang YC, Tanna N, Almer N, Chung CH, Zou M, Zheng Z, Li C. Impact of Frontier Development of Alveolar Bone Grafting on Orthodontic Tooth Movement. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Jun 30; 10:869191. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.869191. PMID: 35845390; PMCID: PMC9280714.

SRIGHANA NADELLA D’25

Nadella S, Asi A, Sheridan O, Wolff M, Panchal N. Strategies for managing dental care for refugee patients. Spec Care Dentist. 2022 Oct 30. doi: 10.1111/scd.12794. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36310108.

Nadella S, Mupparapu M, Akintoye SO. Risk of developing spontaneous MRONJ in fibrous dysplasia patients treated with bisphosphonates: a systematic review of the literature. Quintessence Int. 2022 Jun 20;53(7):616-623. doi: 10.3290/j.qi.b3082785. PMID: 35674165.

RYAN NGUYEN D’23

Nguyen RM, Rekawek P, Jazayeri HE, Wang TT, Panchal N. Mentorship Is Critical for Successful Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Student Research. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2022 May 26:S0278-2391(22)00411-6. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2022.05.007. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35697118.

RISHI PATEL D’23

Ozer F, Patel R, Yip J, Yakymiv O, Saleh N, Blatz MB. Five-year clinical performance of two fluoride-releasing giomer resin materials in occlusal restorations. J Esthet Restor Dent. 2022 Aug 7. doi: 10.1111/jerd.12948. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35934807.

ALEXANDRA SCHROEDER D’25

Schroeder, A., Philips, J. and Clark, R. (2022), Research and Professional Literature to Inform Practice, November/December 2022. J Midwifery Womens Health., 67: 784-788.

Shivani Shah, D’25 Summer Research Program

Jessica Tan, D’25 Summer Research Program

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH?

I studied the effects of incorporating zeolite, a porous aluminosilicate biomaterial, into glass ionomer cement (GIC) and tested for its ability to release silver ions and inhibit the growth of oral bacteria. The goal is to determine if incorporating zeolite can enhance the antibacterial ability of the material while maintaining or improving its mechanical properties. If successful, this could provide a cost-effective solution for preventing secondary tooth decay in clinical practice by improving the effectiveness of GIC through the incorporation of zeolite. Over the summer, I learned that adding silver-incorporated zeolite to GIC significantly increased long-term silver ion release from the material. Now, I am continuing my summer research by performing antimicrobial tests to determine the effectiveness of zeolite-incorporated GIC against a variety of oral microorganisms.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM?

I was interested in gaining experience in basic science research to learn more about how new technologies and techniques for the use of dental materials are developed. The summer research program seemed like the ideal opportunity to get started in this area by allowing me to take ownership of my own project with guidance from expert faculty. I was able to choose a topic of interest to me and learn from researchers in multiple departments across the university, including Preventive & Restorative Sciences, Basic & Translational Sciences, Earth & Environmental Sciences, and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO PRESENT YOUR RESEARCH?

In November, I did a virtual poster presentation of my summer research project at the 2022 International Dental Materials Congress. In addition, I will be presenting updated findings at the 2023 AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition this spring.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF AN EFFECTIVE RESEARCHER?

ALEXANDER LI D’23

Stanbouly Dani, Stanbouly Rami, Li Alexander Y.Z., Chuang Sung-Kiang. Design and the future of lockingtaper screwless and cementless dental implants: a narrative review. Frontiers of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine. 10.21037/fomm-21-116. 2022.

RACHEL KOGAN D’23

Xie L, Udupa JK, Tong Y, Torigian DA, Huang Z, Kogan RM, Wootton D, Choy KR, Sin S, Wagshul ME, Arens R. Automatic upper airway segmentation in static and dynamic MRI via anatomyguided convolutional neural networks. Med Phys. 2022 Jan;49(1):324342. doi: 10.1002/mp.15345. Epub 2021 Dec 2. PMID: 34773260.

Perseverance is one of the most important qualities for researchers to have. Any research project involves its own unique obstacles and setbacks, so it is crucial to know how to persevere in the face of these challenges. This summer, I ended up spending much more time than I anticipated on finding an optimal method for measuring silver ion release. After realizing the initial method I proposed wouldn’t work, I collaborated with several departments across Penn to learn different techniques and technologies for measuring ion release. Through my research journey, I discovered that facing and overcoming challenges is crucial for learning and growth.

FUN FACT?

Before dental school, I worked as a digital product designer in the healthcare technology space.

“Any research project involves its own unique obstacles and setbacks, so it is crucial to know how to persevere in the face of these challenges.”

JESSICA TAN, D’25

STUDENT INTERVIEW

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH?

I worked with Dr. France in Oral Medicine, and, along with Nila and Shivani, focused on biologics and their effects on oral health. The biologics we focused on were from three different categories- tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, interleukin (IL) inhibitors, and B and T cell inhibitors. To investigate the effects of biologics on oral health, we went into AxiUm and did patient chart reviews from 255 patients that have been treated at PDM since July 2017- July 2022. We collected all their information regarding oral health such as how many cavities they have, extractions, emergency treatments, periodontal health, and oral medicine findings. Analyzing the data, within the scope of our research we didn’t find any appreciable effects of the biologic agents on oral health. Future research may further expand on this study by considering biosimilars and more.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM?

Neda Mahjour,

Summer Research Program

During D1 year, several professors discussed their research. For example, Dr. Daniell talked about his COVID-19 gum, and that was very highly publicized, and I found fascinating. Dr. Hersh also talked about his research about the pain model for wisdom teeth extractions, and he was the one who found that ibuprofen and acetaminophen together was actually more effective than opioids in certain cases. By learning of such research, I thought it would be nice to be involved with this side of PDM. Also, research is a good opportunity to get to know other people better and I made great friends.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF AN EFFECTIVE RESEARCHER?

Creativity is very important. Whether you’re designing the experiment or analyzing the data, you often may run into problems. You need to be innovative and think outside the box in order to overcome the problems. Looking to our mentors, who are giants in the field, such as Dr. France herself or Dr. Hersh or Dr. Daniell can help inspire and guide you. But ultimately, at the end of the day, when you’re doing cutting edge research and it’s entirely original, it’s important to be able to think on your feet and collaboratively overcome hurdles.

FUN FACT?

Oral medicine was established at PDM in the 1950s!

PDMVernonBrightman@dental.upenn.edu

D’25

“You need to be innovative and think outside the box in order to overcome the problems.”

NEDA MAHJOUR, D’25