The College of Dentistry displayed its vibrant research community through a variety of events held throughout the 2023-2024 academic year. The centerpiece was the 71st Annual Meeting of the Iowa Section of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) meeting in February, where students, faculty, and collaborators showcase their latest work and connect across disciplines. In addition, the college hosted research seminars featuring local, national, and international experts across the full range of oral health science. These events provide valuable opportunities for learning, collaboration, and advancing discovery in service of improved oral and overall health.

71st Annual Meeting of the Iowa Section of the AADOCR

90

total presentations

43

oral presentations

47

poster presentations
Lawrence Tabak

Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak

Principal Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Keynote Address: The View From NIH: Many Challenges, Many Opportunities

Huojun Cao

Dr. Huojun Cao

Associate Professor of Endodontics

Featured Address: Molecular Mechanism Controlling the Initiation of Tooth Development Program

Julie Reynolds

Dr. Julie Reynolds

Assistant Professor of Preventive and Community Dentistry

Featured Address: Teledentistry Modalities to Improve Dental Care Access and Efficiency

2024 Iowa Section of the AADOCR Booklet

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Research Day Photo Gallery

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2024 Featured Articles for Research Day

The grant administration team for the Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research

Supporting Excellence: Iowa Dentistry’s Research Support Team

Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Like most high-level research universities, Iowa Dentistry relies on its grant administration team to help faculty develop their grant applications, ensuring that the applications meet all grant requirements while providing feedback to faculty members identifying potential weakness in the grant application. Ann Lawler, Mikaela Rhoads, and Maria Bertorello make up the grant administration team, and Iowa Dentistry's research successes are due in no small part to their on-going efforts to support our faculty and researchers.
Siva Prakasam in his research lab

Iowa Periodontist examines the function of PGRPs in periodontal disease

Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Sivaraman Prakasam, associate professor and head of the Department of Periodontics, is investigating a particular group of proteins that discriminates between good and bad bacteria in a person’s gingiva (gum) and mouth to modulate the body’s immune response. His research could lead to new tools that can prevent or treat periodontitis.
Colton Curtis in a labratory

Student Research Profile: Improving Dry Mouth and Oral Health in Older Populations with Dentures

Wednesday, February 14, 2024
The Dental Student Research Program at Iowa Dentistry has a long and venerable tradition of teaching students to conduct and think critically about research. Fourth-year dental student Colton Curtis exemplifies these qualities in his work investigating methods to improve dry mouth and oral health in older populations with dentures. Curtis’ experience over the course of his dental career illustrates this well. He began doing research in his first year, but it took him a while to zero in on the right topic.

Seminars in Dental Research

12

research presentations from experts in their discipline

6

departments that hosted a research seminar presenter

Seminars in Dental Research

Fall 2023 Research Seminars

September 12, Chad Novince, Medical University of South Carolina, “Commensal Microbiota, a Dynamic Regulator of Skeletal Metabolism," hosted by Heidi Steinkamp, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

September 21, Ana Bedran-Russo, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois Chicago, “Bioinspired Materials to Enhance the Lifespan of Teeth and Restorative Therapies,” hosted by Erica Teixeira, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

October 10, Ana Fugolin, School of Dentistry, Oregon Health and Science University, “Designing the Future: Exploring the Potential of Stimuli-Responsive Dental Biomaterials," hosted by Ariene Leme Kraus and Cristina Vidal, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.  

November 14, Jamie Nichols, School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado–AMC, "Buffering craniofacial variation," hosted by Eric Van Otterloo, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

November 30, Ronald Strauss, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, "Blessings in Disguise: Finding Wisdom from Facial Difference", hosted by Steve Levy, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Spring 2024 Research Seminars

January 24, David Johnsen, "The research side of critical thinking implementation for dental students from theory to practice," hosted by Eric Van Otterloo, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

January 30, Katherine Maki, NIH Assistant Clinical Investigator, “The gut-brain axis and beyond: Exploring mechanisms linking oral and gut microbiome signaling to patient phenotype in heavy alcohol use,” hosted by Sukirth Ganesan, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

January 31, Afsar Naqvi, "Viruses in Periodontal Disease Pathogenesis," hosted by Juhi Uttamani, W220A/B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

March 19, Lakmali Silva, "Fibrin–neutrophil engagement in oral mucosal immunopathology and beyond," hosted by Sukirth Ganesan, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

April 9, Ping Zhang, "Periodontitis: from local destruction to brain dysfunction," hosted by Huojun Cao, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

April 16, Xiaohua Liu, "Bio-inspired Materials for Dental and Craniofacial Tissue Regeneration," hosted by Hongli Sun, Galagan B, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

April 25, Ronald Stauss, "Blessings in Disguise: Finding Wisdom from Facial Difference," hosted by Steve Levy, Galagan B, 12-1 p.m.