Research has long been at the heart of the vision and mission at IU School of Dentistry (IUSD). The dental school came together to celebrate our research achievements at the 32nd Annual Research Day on April 10, 2024, at the IU Indianapolis (IUI) Campus Center. One hundred and eleven students, faculty, and staff members presented 94 research projects. For the second year, researchers from the IU-Fort Wayne Dental Hygiene Program also shared their innovative research.
“We have a strong tradition of innovation and discovery at IU School of Dentistry that impacts people’s lives,” said Dr. Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch, IUSD dean. “As a premiere urban research university, it is a vitally important way we contribute to the mission of IU Indianapolis and to the future of oral health care. Congratulations to everyone here today for their success in pushing forward the frontiers of oral health research.”
“More than ever, we strive to foster collaborative research efforts among the students, faculty, staff, research collaborators, and industrial partners to continue our enhance care for people’s oral health needs,” said Dr. Tien Min Gabriel Chu, associate dean for research. “Behind today’s posters we know there are many hours of sweat and tears, working in the lab, reading literature, running experiments, collecting and interpreting data, and discussions with mentors and research teams -- all for the purpose of advancing oral health research. On this 2024 IUSD Research Day, we carry on the same spirit and tradition to push our profession forward with the new knowledge presented in today’s posters and clinical case presentations, which are both inspiring and forward-thinking.”
At the Research Day plenary, Dr. Phaedra Corso, vice president for research at IU Indianapolis, shared her vision of research at IU’s urban campus.
Dr. Jane Weintraub, former dean at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry, immediate past president of the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR), and the first R. Gary Rozier and Chester W. Douglass Distinguished Professor in Dental Public Health offered the keynote address, sharing wisdom from her 40-year research career in her talk, “The Hunt to Understand and Prevent Oral Disease: Clinical trials, tribulations and other research adventures.”
A panel of distinguished faculty judges recognized numerous students, faculty, and staff with research achievement awards. The complete list of award recipients follows below.
| Award Recipients | Award Name |
| Dr. Mythily Srinivasan | IU School of Dentistry Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award for Research |
| Dr. Thankam Thyvalikakath | The Stookey Trailblazer Faculty Researcher Award |
| Lauren Levendoski | IUSD Research Staff Award |
| Katie Chester | The Stookey Trailblazer Student Researcher Award |
| Giovanna Denucci | The Stookey Preventive Dentistry Research Award |
| Two Awardees: Andrew Doan and Navia Novosel | Dean’s Award for Research Excellence |
| Three Awardees: Parham Karimi, Brittany Gehlhausen, Jose Herrera | Cyril S. Carr Research Scholarship |
| Andrew Doan (DDS), Brittany Gehlhausen (DDS), Parham Karimi (DDS), Sara Alhaffar (DDS), Carrie Lane (DDS), Aparna Chintapalli (DDS), Navia Novosel (DDS), Deepthi Devireddy (DDS), Jose Herrera (DDS) | Research Honors Program – Certificate of Achievement |
| Naomi Riley (D2), Johnna Snider (D3), Brittany Gehlhausen (D4) | Recognition of Outstanding Research Engagement |
| Awardee: Marika Herron and Tiana Wright; Honorable Mention: Courtney Sparks and Abilene Drake | IU Indianapolis Dental Hygiene Research Day Award |
| Haley Hooley | IU Fort Wayne Oral Health Research Award |
| Naomi Riley | AADOCR Student Research Day Award |
| Johnna Snider | Selected competitor for Dentsply Sirona/AADOCR SCADA Award |
| Navia Novosel | IDA Student Research Award |
| Parham Karimi | King Saud University Travel Award for Predoctoral Student Research |
| Ashley Blankenbaker | Predoctoral Student Best Clinical Case Report Award |
| Lucy Knippenberg | King Saud University Travel Award for Graduate Student Research |
| Jacob Gussert | Delta Dental Award for Innovation in Oral Care Research |
| Matthew Thompson | King Saud University Travel Award for Best Clinical Case Report |
| Drashty Mody | King Saud University Travel Award for PhD Student Research |
| Dr. Giovanna Denucci | Maynard K. Hine Award for Excellence in Dental Research |
The 2024 Annual Research Day planning committee included Co-Chair Keli Seering, Co-Chair Dr. Chandler Walker, Dr. Hawra AlQallaf, Kristy Beach, Dr. Angela Bruzzaniti, Katie Chester, Dr. Tien-Min Gabriel Chu, Dr. Giovanna Denucci, Brittany Gehlhausen, Dr. Grace Gomez Felix Gomez, Dr. Richard Gregory, Abrielle Lamphere, Dr. Frank Lippert, Sheryl McGinnis, Drashty Mody, Dr. Halide Namli Kilic, Abbey Rieck, Naomi Riley, and Terry Wilson.
View photos from the event in a gallery at the IUSD Facebook Page.
A video recording of the event is available to view on our Facebook Video page.
A pdf of the event program, containing all of the presentation abstracts, is available for download from the IUSD Research Day webpage.