Dean's Summer Research Scholars

The Dean's Summer Scholarship program supports a three-month summer research experience to three incoming first professional dental students each year.  A call for applications is sent out in late spring to all incoming students and they are required to submit a brief application describing their past type of research and the area of research they are interested in (oral cancer, tissue engineering, public health/epidemiology, genetics, physiology/oral function, dental informatics). A mentor is matched to the students based on their area of interest at the time of application. A monthly stipend is provided.

The Dean’s Summer Research Scholarship Program was established to support a summer research-intensive training experience for students who have been accepted, but have not yet matriculated into the School of Dental Medicine’s DMD Program.

This is a twelve-week program in which accepted students develop a research project between May and August prior to enrollment into the School of Dental Medicine. Three independent study credits will be earned during the summer program, as well as the opportunity to present a poster at the Annual Spring Research Symposium.

2018 Dean's Summer Research Scholars

Harrison Heise

  • BS in biological sciences from Pennsylvania State University
  • Paired with Dr. Juan Taboas
  • "Prehypertrophic Chondrocytes Undergo More Spatial Alignment in Response to Hypertrophic versus Proliferative Cartilage"

Jacob Hirschi

  • BS in exercise science with a minor in business administration from Brigham Young University
  • Paired with Dr. Alejandro Almarza
  • "Characterization of the Temporomandibular Joint Disc"

Milap Lavani

  • BS in biological sciences from Virginia Tech
  • Paired with Dr, Konstantinos Verdelis
  • "Micro-Computed Tomography Assessment of MVNP-Induced Paget's Leasions in Mice"

Katherine Otto

  • BS in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh
  • Paired with Dr. Sarah Grafton
  • "Implications of Cannabis Use in Patients with Dental Anxiety"

Andrea Racic

Adam Randazzo

  • BS in chemistry and BA in Spanish from the University of Pittsburgh
  • Paired with Dr. John Burnheimer
  • "Genetic Polymorphisms Influence Shear Bond Resistance of Orthodontic Brackets"

Catherine Shao

  • BS in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania
  • Paired with Dr. Fatima Syed-Picard
  • "Scaffold-Free Engineered Nerves from Dental Pulp Stem Cells"

Apurva Shinde

  • BS in biological sciences with a minor in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh
  • Paired with Dr. Dobrawa Napierala
  • "Does SerpinB2 play a Developmental Role in Dental/Skeletal Mineralization"

Toshiki Soejima

  • BS in biological sciences with a minor in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh
  • Paired with Dr. Mary Marazita
  • "Comparing Non-Metric Dental Trait Expression in Cleft Families versus Healthy Controls"
 

 

2017 Dean's Summer Research Scholars

2016 Dean's Summer Research Scholars

2015 Dean's Summer Research Scholars

2014 Dean's Summer Research Scholars