Kylie Sestak, DDS, a second-year periodontics resident at the UNMC College of Dentistry, won the Clinical Research Award in the research forum competition at the annual American Academy of Periodontology Meeting in Toronto last month.
Dr. Sestak, a UNMC College of Dentistry graduate and a St. Paul, Nebraska, native, said her research explores specific matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzyme levels in patients who have both periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
“Understanding how oral health, systemic inflammation and MMP activity are linked can really help improve patient care,” she said. “As dental professionals, it’s important that we work closely with our medical colleagues, and vice versa, when managing patients with periodontitis and RA, and include oral health as part of overall disease management.”
Dr. Sestak worked alongside Jeffrey Payne, DDS, F. Gene and Rosemary Dixon Endowed Chair of the UNMC Department of Surgical Specialties, and Ted Mikuls, MD, Stokes-Shackleford Professor of Rheumatology in the UNMC Division of Rheumatology, for the research.
“Dr. Sestak commenced her three-year periodontology residency in July 2024, and she wanted to start her MSIA research project right away and hit the ground running,” Dr. Payne said. “Dr. Sestak is eager to learn and actively seeks feedback because of her continuous drive to improve. She is an exceptional resident and a pleasure to mentor.
“I am extremely proud of Dr. Sestak and honored to be her mentor.”
“It’s really amazing, coming in as a first-year resident, the number of faculty members we can work with,” Dr. Sestak said. “I knew Dr. Payne from undergrad, and I knew of his work previously with Dr. Joyce Lee (DDS). I really look up to her, so I thought I would carry on the work that she and Dr. Payne had established. Dr. Payne had worked with Dr. Mikuls before, as well, and we have a great statistician, Dr. Harlan Sayles (PhD) of the College of Public Health. There has been great support.”
Dr. Sestak’s research is part of her master’s in oral biology, which she is pursuing along with her periodontal certificate.
“Research is a big part of the periodontal world, and it will be important to incorporate that in my clinical work,” she said. “If I were to pursue academia in the future, this research experience would also be a great background to have.”
Dr. Sestak said she appreciates the support she gets at UNMC.
“I love my program,” she said. “I really appreciate everyone including staff, faculty and my co-residents. I’m also thankful for my co-authors. I couldn’t do it without them.”