Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty, Students Win Dental Research Awards

November  16, 2009

Students and faculty from the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry garnered multiple awards for their research achievements this month at two separate symposia.

The American Association for Dental Research San Francisco Section held its second annual meeting on Nov. 4 at the Dugoni School of Dentistry. Pacific students and professors won two awards out of four during the meeting's poster presentations, which included representation from University of the Pacific, University of California San Francisco and Stanford. The awards went to the following people:

• Department of Microbiology Research Assistant Michael Yee and professors Drs. Krystyna Konopka and Nejat Düzgüneş received first place in clinical sciences for their presentation "HIV-1 Env-Mediated Cell-Cell Fusion is Inhibited by Lectins and Peptides, but not by Antibodies that Inhibit Infection." This project also involved the collaboration of Professor Jan Balzarini from the Catholic University of Leuven.
• Drs. Marie Tolarova and Jeffrey Tinloy of the Department of Orthodontics, along with 2010 students Loren Cadelinia and Kelcie Barnst, received second place in clinical sciences for their research presentation "A Study of Mothers' Nutrition and Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and Palate in San Salvador."

At a separate event, the 15th annual Hinman Student Research Symposium held Oct. 30 - Nov.1 at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, student Andrew Jang, Class of 2010, was honored for excellence in clinical research. Jang's project studied the effects of age and functional loading on the width and hardness of cementum, which anchors the tooth to alveolar bone and absorbs loading forces. The project was a collaborative effort by investigators at the Dugoni School of Dentistry, the University of California San Francisco and the University of Pennsylvania's School of Dentistry.

The Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry spearheads numerous research projects each year through the dedicated efforts of faculty and students. The school has conducted clinical research for several businesses and foundations and has won several awards for excellence in research.

Category Type: Honors and Awards

Contact:  Office of Public Relations, 415.929.6434, pr@pacific.edu