NYUCD’s annual research day in April set new standards both for the quality and variety of submissions and the number of students and faculty who came to celebrate them.

Kudos to Chaninah Zweihorn,’03, who won the ADA Dentsply Student Research Award for his presentation entitled “Ion-Selectivity Switch Is a Permeability Gating Mechanism With Physiological Relevance.” Chaninah’s adviser was Dr. Kathleen Walsh Kinnally, professor of basic science and craniofacial biology. Joseph Zelig, ’02, won the OKU Award for his presentation entitled “Neovacularization of a Bioengineered Tissue: An Adenoviral Approach.” Joseph was advised by Dr. Louis Terracio, associate dean for research, and Dr. Upinder Fotadar, research associate.

Joseph was also a corecipient of the Dean’s Student Research Award, along with Phillip Zaveloff, ’03. Dr. Mea A. Weinberg, clinical associate professor of periodontics; Dr. Robert J. Boylan, associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology; and Dr. Fotadar advised them on their presentation entitled “A Novel Method for Determining the Prevalence of Identical orphyromonas Gingivalis Strains Among Family Members.”

The award for postdoctoral presentations was shared by Dawn Pietkiewicz for “The Effect of Cytochrome c on Apoptosis” (adviser: Dr. Kinnally), and by Wentao (Tom) Yan for “Tissue Engineering of Skeletal Muscle: Phase 1-Tissue Culture Conditions” (adviser: Dr. Terracio). The judges included Dr. Ananda Dasanayake, associate professor of epidemiology and health promotion and director of the M.S. Program in Clinical Research; Dr. Robert Glickman, professor and chairman of the Mecca Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and director of the Advanced Education Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Dr. Angela Kamer, assistant professor of periodontics; Dr. Yihong Li, associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology and director of international research; and Dr. Harvey Wishe, associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology.