Raenie Oakes took first place honors in the Dental Student Poster Presentations category. Congratulating her are her mentor, Robert Spears (left), and Dr. David Carlson, associate dean for research and advanced education and chair of biomedical sciences.

From left: Kathleen Muzzin mentored Darla Heckathorn and Beth Ann Davis, whose research took first place in the Dental Hygiene Table Clinics category.

Research Day featured poster and oral presentation formats. Student winners received cash awards and plaques, which were provided by the Student Research Group and the AADR's Dallas section.

Dental hygiene judges were Dr. Celeste Abraham, clinical instructor in periodontics, Dr. Bob Hinton, associate professor of biomedical sciences, and Ann McCann, director of assessment in academic planning and development. Dental posters judges included Dr. Jason Griggs, assistant professor and director of the biomaterials science graduate program, and Dr. Dan Jones (BCD '89), professor and chair of public health sciences. Judges for graduate presentations were Dr. Paul Ezzo (BCD '93), research assistant professor in biomedical sciences, and Dr. Bob Hutchins, associate professor of biomedical sciences

Dental Hygiene Table Clinics

First Place

• Beth Ann Davis (DH2) and
• Darla Heckathorn (DH2)

"Periodontal and Cardiovascular Disease Connection: C-reactive Protein"

Mentor: Kathleen Muzzin, clinical associate professor of dental hygiene

Second Place

• Lisha Edwards (DH2) and
• Laurie McCullough (DH2)

"Dental Implications of Oral Piercings"

Mentor: Glenna Johns (BCD '65, '77, '99), clinical assistant professor of dental hygiene

Dental Student Poster Presentations

First Place

• Raenie Oakes (D3)

"Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Results in Altered Levels of Apoptosis in the Rat TMJ"

Mentor: Robert Spears, instructor in biomedical sciences

Second Place

• David Mikulencak (D4)

"Reliability of Estimating the Proximity of Posterior Occlusal Surfaces"

Mentor: Dr. Peter Buschang, professor of orthodontics

Third Place (tie)

• Matt Heaton (D2)

"Experimental Chairside Test for the Rapid Diagnosis of Oropharyngeal Candidiasis"

Mentor: Dr. Terry Rees (BCD '68-Perio), director of stomatology in periodontics

• Ty Shafer (D3)

"Effect of Surface Conditions on Corrosion of Cast Titanium Alloys"

Mentor: Dr. Zhuo Cai, assistant professor of biomaterials science

• David Coon (D2)

"Nicotine Effects On Wound Healing In Human Gingival Fibroblasts"

Mentor: Dr. Kathy Svoboda, professor of biomedical sciences

• Sal Taiym (D2)

"Hormone Levels in Patients with Sjögren's Syndrome and Healthy Controls"

Mentor: Dr. Ibtisam Al-Hashimi, associate professor of periodontics

Graduate Student Competition – Basic Sciences Division

First Place

• Dr. Pei Kang, resident in biomedical sciences

"Nicotine Modulates Nicotinic Receptors and PI-3 Kinase Pathway in Medial Edge Epithelia (MEE) During Palate Fusion"

Mentor: Dr. Kathy Svoboda, professor of biomedical sciences

Graduate Student Competition – Clinical Sciences Division

First Place (tie)

• Dr. Michael Perry, resident in periodontics

"Endosseous Implant Integration: Distraction Osteogenesis vs. Onlay Graft"

Mentor: Dr. William Hallmon, professor and chair of periodontics

• Dr. Patricia Garcia-Morales, resident in biomedical sciences

"Longitudinal Stability of Divergent Growth Patterns"

Mentor: Dr. Peter Buschang, professor of orthodontics