{"id":120586,"date":"2025-03-24T12:55:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T17:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=120586"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:41:08","slug":"research-day-showcases-students-oral-health-research-projects-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/03\/24\/research-day-showcases-students-oral-health-research-projects-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Day showcases students&#8217; oral health research projects"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\">\n<p>The 2025 College of Dentistry Research Day was held on February 28 to showcase students&#8217; oral health research projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event featured the 58th annual Frank M. Wentz Student Scientific Program and keynote speakers: Ken Bayles, PhD, UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research; Gerard Kugel, DMD, MS, PhD, Dean; Sumit Yadav, BDS, MDS, MBA, PhD, Interim Associate Dean for Research; and Sangamesh Kumbar, PhD, Professor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Each year, our third-year dental students, fourth-year dental hygiene students, and postgraduate students present the results of their original research projects,&#8221; said Amanda Dolen, assistant professor and Research Day committee chair. &#8220;They work with faculty mentors, gaining insight into how they can help shape the future of oral health through research.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Presentations covered a range of topics, including clinical and basic sciences as well as educational research. The top three presentations were honored in three categories: postgraduate, dental, and dental hygiene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2025 Dental Winners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1st Place: Mikah Hoppens and Tanner Delaney<\/strong><br>Mentor: Dr. Ali Nawshad<br>&#8220;Genetically rescuing left palate: a potentially novel approach to correct palate cleft in TGF\u03b23 -\/- mice&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2nd Place: Carter Meyer and Samantha Hunter<\/strong><br>Mentor: Dr. Richard Reinhardt<br>&#8220;The effectiveness of detecting plaque on tooth surfaces using traditional and AI monitoring&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>3rd Place: Elaina Spanel and Logan Spanel<\/strong><br>Mentor: Dr. Amanda Wobido<br>&#8220;Impact of Polishing Systems on the Surface Roughness of Resin Composites&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2025 Dental Hygiene Winners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1st Place: Gloria Larkin and Allie West<\/strong><br>Mentor: Jaimee Shropshire<br>&#8220;The Inhibitory Effects of Terminalia chebula and Camellia sinensis Plant Extracts on Biofilm Containing and Streptococcus mutans: An in vitro study&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2nd Place: Jessica Nguyen and Jennifer Quebrado-Arcos<\/strong><br>Mentors: Dr. Mark Beatty and Bobby Simetich<br>&#8220;Does Using Toothpaste Tablets Cause More Abrasion on Composite Resins Compared to Using Traditional Dentifrice?&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>3rd Place: Maddie Zaborowski and Morgan Sila<\/strong><br>Mentor: Dr. Dona McCanlies<br>&#8220;In Vitro Study: Comparing Oil Pulling on Permanent Extracted Teeth with Kilgore Artificial Plaque to Not Using the Oil Pulling Technique to Reduce Plaque Index&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2025 Postgraduate Winners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1st Place: Dr. Duke Davis<\/strong><br>Mentor: Dr. Richard Reinhardt<br>&#8220;Single cell RNA-sequencing identification of cell mediators involved in wound healing after single tooth extraction&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2nd Place: Dr. Morgan Holmes and Dr. Karan Mirchandani<\/strong><br>Mentor: Dr. Anne Williamson<br>&#8220;Comparison of Diameters of Trunatomy Rotary Files and Gutta Percha&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Presentations covered clinical and basic sciences, as well as educational research. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":120587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"92216,120497,120435,127473,121498,121603","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-college-of-dentistry","department-dentistry-research"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Research Day showcases students&#039; 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