On September 29, 2007, DENTSPLY International hosted the 48th Annual ADA/DENTSPLY Student Clinician Research Awards Program and Reception. The awards program was held in San Francisco during the 2007 ADA Annual Session.

The Student Clinician Research Program was initiated in 1959 to commemorate the centennial of the ADA in New York City, as a joint venture between DENTSPLY International and the American Dental Association. Dr. Harold Hillenbrand, then Executive Director of the ADA and Mr. Henry M. Thornton, then President of DENTSPLY International launched the first program. The program now includes students in 35 countries, and over 5,000 students have participated in this program. The Student Clinicians present basic science or clinical research in a poster presentation using the format of the American Association of Dental Research. Dr. Linda Niessen, VP and Chief Clinical Officer for DENTSPLY served as host for this year’s Awards Program. Dr. Niessen congratulated the Student Clinicians from the 52 U.S. Dental Schools and 16 International Dental Schools who participated in the 2007 SCADA Program. Dr. Niessen stated, “These men and women of science are clearly contributing to the generation of new knowledge which serves as the foundation for the dental profession. Our goal at DENTSPLY is to create healthy smiles throughout the world. This goal depends on scientific advances and technical innovations. As a result, we are honored to support the research efforts of these student scientists.”

The scientific presentations are divided into two categories – Basic Science Research and Clinical Research / Public Health. Three awards are presented in each category for first, second and third place. The 2007 ADA/DENTSPLY Student Clinician Research Program winners are:

Clinical Research / Public Health Winners:
1. Abby J. T. Shannon – University of Iowa
“In-Vitro Vertical Marginal Gap Comparison of CAD/CAM Zirconium Copings”
2. Rishi Popat – Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
“Novel Baby Bottle to Reduce Early Childhood Caries (ECC)”
3. Matthew John Olmsted – University of North Carolina
“Human Bite Force Production in Amelogenesis Imperfecta Patients and Their Family Members”

Basic Science Research Winners:
1. Chi Tonglien Viet – University of California, San Francisco
“Promoter Hypermethylation Quantification in Oral Dysplasia and Cancer”
2. Rosalyn M. Sulyanto – Harvard School of Dental Medicine
“The Role of NFATc1 in Osteoclast Function in vivo”
3. Pieter H. Heemstra – University of Pittsburgh “Characterization and Osteogenic Potential of Dental Pulp Stem Cells”

Following the awards program, DENTSPLY hosted a reception in honor of this year’s participants and all members of SCADA. Senior Executives and Managers from many of our divisions were in attendance to congratulate our newest award winners. During the reception Bret Wise, DENTSPLY’s President and CEO had a special message of congratulations and appreciation for the first SCADA Father / Son Award Winners. Dr. John Olmstead won First Place in the Clinical Research/Public Health Category during the 1974 SCADA program in Washington, D.C. and his son Matthew Olmstead won Third Place in the same category at this year’s program.

Once the students present their research at their countries national research program, they are eligible to join SCADA (Student Clinicians of the American Dental Association), an alumni association for former student clinicians. Members of SCADA can serve as judges for the Student Clinician Research Program during the ADA Annual Session. SCADA also provides fellowship funds for graduate education and honors a faculty advisor each year. To learn more about SCADA you can visit their website at www.scadaresearch.org.

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