Events, News & Outreach

Impressions Alumni publication

International Association for Dental Research Annual Meeting in Seattle

Six students presented posters at the 91st General Session and Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research and the 42nd annual meeting of the American Association for Dental Research. The meeting was held from March 20-23, 2013. Students presenting were: Jason Grant (D4), Jim Howe (D3), Jessica Poeschl (D3), Christopher Schultz (D4, in the photo to the right), Andre Rossini (D3), and Emily Tschetter (D3).

Also in Seattle, Erica Jasa (D1) was elected to serve as the Midwest Regional Representative for the American Dental Education Association Council of Students, during the ADEA annual session. Regional representatives act as a liaison between the Council of Students, Residents, and Fellows and individual school representatives. They facilitate communication between schools and the ADEA Administrative Board. Representatives also serve in the ADEA House of Delegates at the annual meeting.

Peng Receives NIH R01 Grant

Aimin Peng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral Biology, has been awarded a 5-year grant from the National Cancer Institute for his research on DNA Damage Checkpoint Recovery and Cancer. The study will investigate a novel molecular mechanism that allows cancer cells to proliferate, and cancer to recur, following initially successful chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The ultimate goal is to gain a better understanding of how cancer cells develop resistance to treatment and provide the potential to develop more effective cancer therapies.

NIDCR Kudos

Emily Tschetter, D3 student, conducted research at NIDCR for eight weeks in the summer of 2012 in Biological Chemistry in the laboratory of Drs. Lawrence Tabak (Deputy Director, NIH) and Raul Rojas. She is the third COD student to conduct research at NIDCR in the past five years. Emily and Dr. Rojas are pictured on the NIDCR Summer Dental Student Award home page. Congratulations to Emily for her work at NIDCR this past summer!

Research NIH Funding

The UNMC College of Dentistry was ranked 30th in NIH funding for federal fiscal year 2011 (which ended September 30, 2011), the most recent rankings available. The COD now has been ranked in the top 30 in NIH support to U.S. dental schools for eleven consecutive years, after having been ranked in the top 30 only once previously (FY 1979). In addition, the COD was ranked 19th in NIH funding per faculty FTE, the ninth consecutive year that the COD has been ranked in the top 20 in NIH support per FTE.



Robert Bundy receives Hinman Award

The 18th Hinman Student Research Symposium was held Oct. 26-28, 2012, at the historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis,Tennessee. The Symposium featured oral and poster presentations of research projects by dental students and graduate students from dental schools across the nation. At this year’s Symposium, 101 students represented 45 dental schools in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 Canadian provinces. Twenty dental students from the University of Tennessee presented their projects and acted as hosts for the Symposium.

Eight awards were given for the most outstanding student presentations, four in clinical research and four in basic science research, in addition to an award from the National Students Research Group of the American Association for Dental Research. This year, one of the awards in basic science research was won by UNMC College of Dentistry dental student Robert Bundy (left in photo). Robert’s project examined the roles of transcription factors known as Interferon Regulatory Factors in sustaining inflammatory signals as a result of chronic viral infection in cultured mouse macrophages. His poster title was IRF Responses During Macrophages Infection with Theiler's Virus. The study was directed by Dr. Thomas M. Petro, Professor of Oral Biology, (right in photo) University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry.

Special awards were presented to Mrs. Iva Pendleton of the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry for her dedicated service to the Symposium, to Dr. Robert Spears of the Baylor College of Dentistry, Dr. William Johnson of the UNMC College of Dentistry, and Dr. Brian Laurence of Howard University for their long-standing support and participation in the Symposium, and to Katherine Garcia-Godoy, for her generous support of student-faculty interactions.

The Symposium is sponsored by the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry and co-sponsored by the Hinman Dental Society, which holds one of the nation’s largest continuing dental education meetings each March in Atlanta. The Symposium is also supported in part by grants from the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the ADEAGies Foundation, the Procter & Gamble Company, the UTHSC College of Dentistry Alumni Association, and the Tennessee Dental Association Foundation.

Moms Everyday

Learn more about the services of the College of Dentistry on Moms Everyday, a Web site with features to educate parents and support good oral health for all family members.

"The most fun day of the year"

Dr. More than 100 children received needed dental care at Friday's Children's Dental Day in Lincoln. With its carnival-like atmosphere and feel-good mission, Children's Dental Day is one of the most fun days of the year at the college. Read more. Read more about the College of Dentistry's outreach.

Dr. Jeffrey Payne Publishes Cover Story in March 2011 Issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association

Dr. Jeffrey Payne, Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Surgical Specialties, and the F. Gene and Rosemary Dixon Endowed Chair in Dentistry, has published the cover story in the March 2011 issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association. The article was entitled, “The effect of subantimicrobial-dose-doxycycline periodontal therapy on serum biomarkers of systemic inflammation: A randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial.” Dr. Payne and colleagues reported that a low, non-antibiotic (subantimicrobial) dose of doxycycline, which is used to treat periodontitis or gum disease, reduced systemic inflammation in postmenopausal women. Systemic inflammation and periodontitis have been associated with coronary artery disease. Dr. Payne also reported that the subantimicrobial dose of doxycycline elevated high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or “good” cholesterol in women more than five years postmenopausal, who comprised a subgroup of the study participants. The authors concluded that further study is needed to determine whether doxycycline at a subantimicrobial dose can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease.

Co-authors include Dr. Lorne Golub, Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Julie Stoner, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Dr. Hsi-ming Lee, Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Richard Reinhardt, UNMC College of Dentistry, Dr. Timo Sorsa, Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, and Dr. Marvin Slepian, Sarver Heart Center, University of Arizona.

Snapshot -- The meaning of SHARING, dentistry style

LINCOLN -- Daniel Kreis thought the Dental SHARING Clinic started at 5 a.m. on Nov. 11, so he rode his beat-up mountain bike nearly five miles from downtown Lincoln to the UNMC College of Dentistry about an hour before sunrise. He was 12 hours early. Kreis was back at the clinic half a day later, seeking relief from the same dull ache that had him on his bike before dawn. Kreis had two cracked molars and was referred to the Dental SHARING Clinic by a Lincoln clinic that caters to the underinsured, uninsured and homeless. Read more

The College of Dentistry SHARING Clinic is made possible by the generous financial support of Ameritas, Delta Dental of Nebraska, dental alumni and friends. 

UNMC Grants -- Grants help UNMC expand its rural dental care

Driving two hours to see a dentist is not unusual for some people who live in rural parts of Nebraska. Now, thanks to two five-year grants totaling $3.5 million, the UNMC College of Dentistry will try to close this gap by sending more senior dental students and pediatric residents to communities across Nebraska. Read more

Pediatric dental clinic added at Children's

A UNMC College of Dentistry pediatric dental clinic is now in the Children's Specialty Pediatric Center at 84th and W. Dodge Road. Read more

UNMC College of Dentistry celebrates much needed renovations

Patients and students who come to the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry will encounter a modernized, aesthetically pleasing, comfortable environment thanks to $8.9 million in renovations. Read more



Dr. Nawshad's mission to save smiles

Until the flood of 1988, few had paid attention to cleft lip and palate in the rural hillsides of Bangladesh. That changed when Ali Nawshad, D.D.S., Ph.D., arrived to help with relief efforts. The young dental student was struck by the number of children he saw with the deformity. Read more

Dentistry student research highlighted at professional's day

Thirteen graduate, dental and dental hygiene students received $1,100 in cash awards for their table top presentations at the 24rd annual Professional's Day and 43rd Annual Student Scientific Program at the UNMC College of Dentistry on March 26. Read more

Dr. Oakley receives grant from American Cancer Society

Greg Oakley, Ph.D., a cancer researcher at the UNMC College of Dentistry, recently received a four-year $720,000 grant from the American Cancer Society to study DNA damage and how cells repair themselves. Dr. Oakley studies the process by which cells, good or bad, are damaged by chemotherapy and he looks for ways to protect the healthy cells.
Read more 10/11 News Coverage

New mouthwash formulation protects against tooth decay

A research team at UNMC has developed a new mouthwash formulation that may provide long-term protection against tooth decay. The team, led by Dong Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical science in the UNMC College of Pharmacy, has developed a novel drug delivery system to carry antimicrobial agents directly to teeth. Their study was published in the November issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and also was reported in the Nov. 22 issue of Science Daily.
Read more. Fu Chen wins prestigious dental awards

College of Dentistry Student Research

• Conrad Parks, now a fourth-year dental student, was one of 41 recipients nationally of the 2011 American Association for Dental Research Bloc Travel Grant (funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) for the 89th International Association for Dental Research meeting in San Diego, California.
• Eight dental students, one dental hygiene graduate (class of 2010) and one postgraduate pediatric dentistry student presented at the 2011 International Association for Dental Research meeting in San Diego, California.
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Dental Students Serve Community

Educating the next generation of dentists and providing care to the underserved go hand-in-hand at the UNMC College of Dentistry. Read more

Tobacco Cessation Clinic

The Tobacco Cessation Clinic at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry provides individual counseling and personal followup for those who wish to stop smoking or stop using any form of tobacco. Read more

College of Dentistry celebrates new endowed faculty fellowships

Demand for quality dental faculty remains high across the United States, and John Reinhardt, D.D.S., dean of the UNMC College of Dentistry, estimates there are 400 full-time faculty positions currently available. Reinhardt told a group of college supporters earlier this month that recruiting and retaining top dental faculty at UNMC's College of Dentistry continues to be a high priority for him, and that he's especially grateful for the backing of two new endowed faculty fellowships. Read more