penn dental - University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine

Ms. Velasco currently serves as
Co-President of the Vernon Brightman
Research Society, the School’s student
research organization. Her primary
research activities have involved a
project with Dr. Sunday Akintoye,
Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine,
comparing the differentiation capacity
into neurons of adult BMSCs derived
from maxilla, mandible, and iliac crest
bone. “The research suggests that maxillary
and mandibular BMSCs could
become neurons and potentially be
used in the treatment of stroke, paresthesias,
Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s
disease,” notes Ms. Velasco. “It will
take a long time to extrapolate this data
into clinical practice, but the first steps
in the process have been taken.”
Additionally, Ms. Velasco was
selected to represent the School at
the 45th Annual American Dental
Association Dental Student’s Conference
on Research, held May 3-5 in
Gaithersburg, Md. During the two-day
session, she presented updates on her
research project, Disparate Neuronal
Differentiation of Human Orofacial and Axial
Bone Marrow Stromal Cells: Clinical Implications,
at the Paffenberger Research Center
and the National Institutes of Health.
Oral Medicine Residents
Recognized of Research
Two residents from Penn Dental
Medicine’s oral medicine postdoctoral
program have been recognized for their
research—Dr. Paola Higham (GD’10),
as the recipient of a 2009 Sjögren’s
Syndrome Foundation Fellowship
grant, and Dr. Maria Arava-Parastidis
(GD’09), who received the 2009
American Academy of Oral Medicine
Lester Burket Memorial Award.
Dr. Higham was one of four recipients
nationwide to receive a Sjögren’s
Syndrome Foundation Fellowship,
which are awarded annually to medical,
dental, and PhD students working on a
research project in Sjögren’s Syndrome
(SS), an autoimmune disease characterized
by the destruction and dysfunction
of exocrine glands. Significant
16 on campus: people
OKU officers and the 2009 inductees at Senior Farewell in May.
2009 OMICRON KAPPA UPSILON INDUCTEES
Members of Penn Dental Medicine’s graduating class were inducted into the Omicron Kappa
Upsilon National Dental Honor Society (OKU) during the Senior Farwell ceremony, held May 12.
Established to promote and recognize scholarship and character among students of dentistry,
the society selects a number of graduates constituting not more than 12 percent of the entire
class from a list of at least the upper 20 percent based on scholarship, exemplary traits of
character, and potential qualities of future professional growth. The 2009 OKU inductees
include: Siavash Eftekhari, Bibiana Ezeanolue, Brian P. Ford, Vrishali Gujar, Christopher J. Hall,
Marc R. Hayashi, Henna Kim, Stephanie A. Klassner, Mohammad I. Okasha, Debbie M. Parnes,
Evan Shaw, Andrew R. Steinkeler, Hamed Vaziri, Bryon J. Viechnicki, Steven W. Wang, and
Qian Zhang. The Society also presented the Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence, given to
a rising junior student who has demonstrated scholarship, character, and the potential promise
for advancement of dentistry, and service to humanity to Julee C. Plastow (D’10). Additionally,
Dr. Margrit Maggio (D’87), Assistant Professor of Restorative Dentistry-Clinician Educator in
the Department of Preventive and Restorative Sciences, was recognized with a Dental Faculty
Honorary Award and Regina Diamond, Supervisor of Patient Care and Education Services,
received a Non-Dental Faculty Honorary Award.
complications in SS include xerostomia
(dry mouth) and keratoconjunctivitis
sicca (dry eyes). Dr. Higham’s clinical
and research interests are the treatment
of xerostomia and salivary gland
abnormalities, including infectious
and autoimmune disorders like SS.
Through this Fellowship, she is working
on a project exploring the longitudinal
changes in oral health quality of life in
patients diagnosed with SS and treated
with therapy that increases salivary flow.
Dr. Arava-Parastidis received
the Lester Burket Award during the
American Academy of Oral Medicine
Annual Meeting, April 29 - May 2,
in Miami, where she also presented her
research. The Burket Award—created
to honor the memory of Dr. Lester
Burket, former Penn Dental Medicine
Dean and pioneer in the field of
oral medicine—promotes basic and