On February 10, the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics hosted the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Iowa Section of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR). The annual event celebrated the innovative research of students, residents, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and staff across the College.
The theme for this year’s meeting was Advancing Integrity and Innovation: From Scientific Publishing to Clinical Impact, reflecting the College’s commitment to conducting rigorous science that improves oral health outcomes for individuals and communities.
Featured and Keynote Speakers
The morning program included three major scientific presentations:
- Dr. Cristina Vidal delivered Beyond Bacteria: Host Microbiome Interactions Driving Caries Progression, highlighting how shifts in the oral microbiome and host-derived mechanisms affect the trajectory of dental caries.
- Dr. Christopher Barwacz presented Emergence Profile Design at the Biologic Prosthetic Interface, summarizing translational evidence from digital workflows and implant therapy research conducted at Iowa.
- Dr. Jacques Nör, Dean of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, gave the keynote address Stem cells in dental pulp tissue regeneration, sharing new insights into dental pulp stem cell mediated tissue repair.
Faculty, students, and research staff also participated across five oral presentation sessions and a poster session covering behavioral science, biomaterials, clinical dentistry, craniofacial genetics, oral immunology, and more.
Attendees were encouraged to explore presentations throughout the day to learn about emerging discoveries and their potential impact on patient care.
2026 Research Day Awards
Later that evening, the awards banquet recognized excellence in research across predoctoral, postdoctoral, and specialty areas. All award information is from your uploaded 2026 awards file.
SCADA Pre-Doctoral Poster Competition
- 1st Place: Drew Hawthorne (mentor: John Warren)
- 2nd Place: Meagan L. Blomgren (mentor: Teresa Marshall)
- 3rd Place: Anna Hedges (mentor: Michelle McQuistan)
SCADA Post-Doctoral Poster Competition
- 1st Place: Zachary A. Graham (mentors: Fang Qian and Christopher Hogden)
- 2nd Place: Nima Odowa (mentors: Karin Weber-Gasparoni and Heidi Steinkamp)
- 3rd Place: Sara E. Escudero (mentor: Heidi Steinkamp)
Max Smith Oral Presentation Pre-Doctoral Competition
- 1st Place: An-Vi Phan (mentor: Huojun Cao)
- 2nd Place: Kendall N. Chase (mentor: Hongli Sun)
- 3rd Place: Kim N. Vo (mentors: Julie Reynolds and Jennifer Sukalski)
Max Smith Oral Presentation Post-Doctoral Competition
- 1st Place: Alex Hsieh (mentor: Christopher Hogden)
- 2nd Place: Sydney Sanchez (mentors: Teresa Marshall and Brendon Young)
- 3rd Place: Amrita Bhattacharya (mentor: Anvita Maharishi)
P&G Competition
- 1st Place: Sydney Fisher (mentors: Aline Petrin and Lina Moreno)
- 2nd Place: Saba Manafi (mentors: Aline Petrin and Eric Van Otterloo)
- 3rd Place: Nathan Schneider (mentors: Robert Bowers and Dan Caplan)
James S. Wefel Pediatric Pre-Doctoral Competition
- Winner: Mychyl Brown (mentor: Mike Kanellis)
James S. and Janice I. Wefel Memorial Fund
- Winner: Maggie Rohrbeck (mentors: Karin Weber-Gasparoni and Derek Smith)
Bernstein Award for Health Policy
- 1st Place: Maggie L. Manson (mentor: Rohit Nair)
Dental Specialty Awards
- Endodontics Michel Fuller Postdoctoral Award: Priscilla Lavagnolli (mentor: Abhishek Parolia)
- Periodontics Mahlon Fraleigh Award: Keshav Wagle (mentor: Sukirth Ganesan)
- Operative Dentistry: Noor Asfar (mentor: Ariene Leme-Kraus)
- Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology: Kittiphoj Tikkhanarak (mentor: Azeez Butali)
- Radiology: Not awarded
- Orthodontics: Amanda M. Seaberg (mentors: Aline Petrin and Lina Moreno)
- Pediatric Dentistry: Kylie Scott (mentors: Karin Weber-Gasparoni and Derek Smith)
- Preventive and Community Dentistry: Rima Desai (mentor: Michelle McQuistan)
- Prosthodontics: Austin Green (mentor: Aaron Cho)
- Basic Science: Chawin Upara (mentor: Lui Hong)
- Tissue Engineering and Regeneration: Linna Zhong (mentor: Hongli Sun)
AADOCR Student Travel Research Award
- 1st Place: Drew Hawthorne (mentor: John Warren)
OKU Mu Chapter Award Pre-Doctoral Level
- 1st Place: Madison Thatcher (mentor: Robert Bowers)
- 2nd Place: Alexis M. Oppman (mentors: Guillermo Flores and Christopher Stipp)
Staff Research Award
- 1st Place: Zhuozhi Wang (mentor: Hongli Sun)
