Eleni Langas, Marquette University, and Alexandra Rogers-DeCotes, Medical University of South Carolina, were named the first place winners in their respective categories in the virtual ceremony. 

The American Association for Dental Research (AADR), along with co-sponor Dentsply Sirona, recently announced the winners of the 2021 Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Applications Awards (SCADA) program. Dental students participated in the 62nd annual SCADA competition and awards ceremony which was held virtually as part of this year’s IADR/AADR/CADR General Session and Exhibition. 

All US dental schools were invited to nominate a student to participate in the research competition in one of two categories – Clinical Science and Public Health Research and Basic and Translational Science. Each student submitted an abstract for review to the 2021 IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition. Upon acceptance of the abstract, participants submitted a complete portfolio for review to an international panel of judges, including an electronic copy of his/her research poster, a slide presentation, and a video of the oral presentation. Research projects were submitted by 46 student clinicians and six award winners were selected. Each of the 46 student clinicians also presented their research virtually to meeting attendees of the General Session & Exhibition.

In Category 1, Clinical Science and Public Health Research, the first place was awarded to Eleni Langas, Marquette University, for her research on Influence of Scanning Speed, Tip Size and Pattern on Intraoral Scan Accuracy. Second place was awarded to Corey Winkler, East Carolina University, for his research on Accelerated Aging Effects on Color Stability of Potentially Color Adjusting Composite Resins. Third place was awarded to Joyce Lee, University of Tennessee, for research on Strength and Stiffness of Three Temporary Crown and Bridge Materials.

In Category 2 – Basic and Translational Science – first place was awarded to Alexandra Rogers-DeCotes, Medical University of South Carolina, for her research on The TMJ Fibrocartilage-Bone Interface Requires ADAMTS5 and Mechanical Load. In second place, Kazune Pax, The Ohio State University, was awarded for her research on Sources of the Placental Microbiome in Pre-Term Birth & Pre-Eclampsia. Third place was awarded to James Seung Jin Jang, for his research on Gene Regulatory Mechanisms of Viral Interferon Regulatory Factor 1.

In addition, Dentsply Sirona sponsored 12 student research competitions in 12 countries, and five of these student winners were honored during the awards program. These students were from Hokkaido University in Japan, Kyung Hee University in South Korea, the University of Hong Kong, Taipei Medical University, and Chiang Mai University in Thailand.

The SCADA Board of Directors also announced two fellowship recipients and presented awards recognizing leaders in dental research. SCADA provides fellowship funding to promote continued scholarship and help support graduate education. Two post-doctoral students were awarded Henry M. Thornton SCADA Fellowships: Dr An Nguyen, University of California, San Francisco and Dr Deepti Karhade, The Harvard School of Dental Medicine. In collaboration with the American Dental Association, SCADA also awarded ADA Foundation/Dentsply Sirona Research Award for Dual Degree Candidates to Dr Lauren Katz, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The SCADA Board of Directors also recognized leaders for their commitment to the advancement of dentistry with two additional awards. Dr Francesca Gori from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine received the Burton C. Borgelt / SCADA Faculty Advisor Award. The Alan J. Davis / SCADA Achievement Award recognizing a clinician scientist for outstanding service to the dental profession was awarded to Dr Martha Somerman. As an internationally known scholar and educator, Somerman’ s research focuses on defining key regulators controlling the development, maintenance, and regeneration of dental, oral, and craniofacial tissues. Somerman was dental dean at the University of Washington and is the immediate past-director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.