Dentsply Sirona and the AADOCR Celebrate the 2024 SCADA Awards Winners in New Orleans

Dentsply Sirona and the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) congratulate the winners of the 2024 SCADA Awards. The 2024 Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) global award contest took place in conjunction with the General Session of the IADR (International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research)/AADOCR (American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research), March 13-16, 2024 in New Orleans.

Charlotte. Since its first competition in 1959, the SCADA program has catalyzed students to discover the importance of dental research while providing opportunities to advance their research skills and careers with confidence. Dentsply Sirona is proud to support future dental professionals and has sponsored the program since its initiation in New York City. The competition aligns with the company's long-standing commitment to innovation, education and improving oral health globally. Prof. Dr. Rainer Seemann, VP Clinical Affairs and Workflows at Dentsply Sirona, noted that, "The SCADA program enables students to gain valuable experience in scientific research that will benefit them throughout their professional careers. On behalf of Dentsply Sirona, we hope that the experience also inspires them to look for new ways to have a positive impact on dental care and oral health."

Recognizing the winners

The 2024 SCADA awards contest took place during the General Session of the IADR/AADOCR at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year, 51 students from the US participated. They were joined by a small group of winners of international SCADA competitions from Germany, Japan and Taiwan.

An award ceremony was held on March 13 at the Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans to celebrate the winners together with the sponsors, judges, SCADA Board of Directors, as well as key representatives from the participating dental schools. The following day, the winners had the opportunity to present their research in a public poster presentation at the Convention Center. Students who participated in the competition become members of the SCADA Alumni Association.

2024 SCADA Award Winning Projects

In the Clinical Research / Public Health category:

· 1st Place: Daniel Rexin, Loma Linda University, won with his research project "Steam Sterilization of 3D-Printed Surgical Guides Affects Implant Placement Accuracy".

· 2nd Place: Robert Zhou, University of Pacific. Project: "Comprehensive Assessment of Deep Overbite Correction Using Clear Aligners"

· 3rd Place: Chao Dong, University of Washington. Project: "Influence of Gender on OMS Applicants' Recommendation Letters"

In the Basic & Translational Science category:

· 1st Place: Ameera Samaher Haque, University of California and San Francisco won with her research project "Unraveling the Cellular Basis of Murine Incisor Morphogenesis."

· 2nd Place: Conrad Harness, Texas A&M School of Dentistry, Project: "Mechanical Forces Regulate Plasticity of Scx+ Cells During Condyle Growth."

· 3rd Place: Ali Al Hatem (UT Health School of Dentistry at Houston, Project: "MDT-15 mediates enhanced immunity in C. elegans against S. gordonii ".

First, second and third place winning projects in each of the two categories were awarded with $1,000, $750, and $500 respectively.

"SCADA allows us to get a good metric of dental student involvement in research, and we at AADOCR hope they will continue to engage in research by staying curious, keeping informed, and becoming future leaders of the profession," said Alexandre Vieira, President of the AADOCR.

The competitors become part of the SCADA Alumni Association, and join a select group who competed in their individual schools and their country's national program. Alumni can benefit from this network of global professionals connecting students, dental schools, researchers and clinicians.

To learn more about SCADA, please visit SCADA (scadaresearch.org)