AADOCR NSRG Graduate Student Representative Candidate 2026-2027
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry
Cary, NC
Graduation Date: 2030
Reasons for Running
Research will always be a passion of mine, driven by the thrill of discovery and the desire to advance our field. As a first-year PhD/Periodontology candidate at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, I believe in the power of community and mentorship to shape the future of oral health research. I am deeply committed to pursuing an academic research career, and I hope to inspire others to do the same as a leader in NSRG.
I am running for NSRG Graduate Student Representative because I value diversity and representation above all. Having been a dental student, and now a dental resident and graduate student, I aim to strengthen connections among these three groups to ultimately expand AADOCR student membership. Additionally, as a woman in this field, I am especially passionate about inspiring other women to pursue careers as clinician-scientists and academicians. If elected, one of my primary goals will be creating more opportunities for underrepresented students, including workshops and Q&A sessions, that expose students early to PhD/Specialty trainee programs. Through this effort, my goal is to contribute to building a robust and diverse dental, oral, and craniofacial research workforce while addressing the dental faculty shortage.
Research Conducted / Student Activities
Research Conducted
Influence Of Hesperidin on Early Bone Healing of The Rat Mandible Critical-Sized Defect - Explore the positive influence of hesperidin on bone regeneration after introducing a mandibular defect in rats. Immunohistochemistry and microCT findings suggest hesperidin modulates bone morphogenic protein to improve bone healing.
S. McGaughey1, V. Gonçalves2, M. Musskopf2, A. Rivera-Concepcion, C. Yu2, S. Tuin3, A. Stadler2, P. A. Miguez2. Influence of Hesperidin on Early Bone Healing of the Rat Mandible Critical-Sized Defect, J Dent Res Vol #101(Spec Iss A): 0221, (https://iadr.abstractarchives.com/abstract/51am-3663129/the-effect-of-dietary-hesperidin-on-rat-vs-mice-long-bone-homeostasis)
Skeletal Phenotype of Melanoregulin Mutant Mice as a Function of Age - Characterized MREG knockout mice phenotype in terms of bone mass, histological bone microarchitecture, and bone marrow-derived osteoclast function to understand how lack of MREG affects bone with aging. Our data show MREG likely affects cell fate in the marrow and is associated with a significant reduction in adipose tissue and osteoclast numbers
Student Activities
- NSRG Southeast Region Regional Representative
- 2022-23 UNC Student Research Group President
- 2020-24 Author and Editor for local research newsletter, Pulp Nonfiction
- 2021-22 Secretary
- 2022-23 UNC ADEA President
- 2021-22 Vice President
- ADEA Academic Dental Career Fellow
- 2022-23 Shils National Transformational Leadership Award