AADOCR NSRG - Vice President Candidate
What are your reasons for running for this position?
While dental research has seen considerable advancements, there remains a pressing need to integrate next-generation techniques found in computational biology, my research expertise.
We, as future clinician-scientists, have a responsibility to leverage interdisciplinary collaboration
to pioneer change and innovate for the betterment of patient-centered care. My candidacy for vice president is driven by a commitment to these values. If elected, my dedication to the president-elect’s vision for the NSRG, organizational operation, and strategic development
would remain unwavering. Moreover, I offer additional contributions to expand on the NSRG’s mission. To promote research interests of members beyond the annual AADOCR session, I
back the creation of a webinar series spotlighting trainee research—a space for dental students
to identify inventive ideas and collaborators. Furthermore, I aspire to provide networking avenues for a diverse research workforce. Leveraging connections with a lineage of dentists
who transitioned to independent research careers at Penn Dental Medicine, I plan to coordinate
sessions on topics including career transition, grantsmanship, and mentor selection. Finally, reflecting on my time as president of Penn’s Pre-Dental Society, I would support an increase in national outreach to these organizations to foster pre-dental involvement in NSRG events, promoting an early exposure to dental research.
research conducted/ student activities
- Candidate for DMD, 2026 - University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine 7 Year Bio-
Dental Program
- 2023 AADOCR Hatton Award Winner, 1st Place, Junior Category for my abstract and project
titled, “Trokachat: Identification of Disease-Driving Cell Signaling Interactions in scRNAseq Data.” March, 2023. Portland, Oregon.
- 2023 IADR Hatton Competition Finalist for my abstract and project titled, “Trokachat:
Identification of Disease-Driving Cell Signaling Interactions in scRNAseq Data.” June, 2023. Bogotá, Colombia.
- 2022 MidAtlantic Bioinformatics Conference, Abstract/Poster Presentation. “Intuitive
intercellular communication deconvolution and ranking for improved discovery of contextdependent
signaling via TrokaChat.” October, 2022. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Coauthor, review article. “Osteoimmunology in Periodontitis and Orthodontic Tooth
Movement.” April, 2023. Philadelphia, PA.
- Abstract coauthor. 3rd International Conference on Oral Mucosal Immunity and Microbiome.
“An scRNA-seq Analysis of the Impact of Diabetes on the Host Response in Periodontitis.” September, 2023. Heraklion, Greece.
- Abstract Coauthor. IADR General Session 2024. “Transcriptome of Aged and Diabetic
Wounds Reveal Unique Stromal-Immune Dysregulation.” New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Abstract Coauthor - Poster Presentation. PDM Research Day 2023.
- Ongoing work on TrokaChat first-author publication. October, 2023.
- Ongoing coauthor on a periodontal wound healing scRNAseq study in the Graves Lab. 2023.
- Ongoing coauthor of a dermal wound healing scRNAseq study in the Graves Lab. 2023