School of Dentistry receives national recognition at 2026 AADOCR meeting
Participants took part in research presentations, poster sessions, and professional development programs. Several members of the dental school community were honored for their scholarly achievements.
Faculty, students, and researchers from UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry were recognized with multiple national honors during the 2026 Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research, held in San Diego in conjunction with the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research.
Participants took part in research presentations, poster sessions, and professional development programs. Several members of the dental school community were honored for their scholarly achievements.
Distinguished Awards and Mentorship
Mary (Cindy) Farach-Carson, PhD, associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences, received the high honor of winning the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Salivary Research.
Sudha Rajderkar, BDS, MS, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences, was also selected as a mentee in the AADOCR Mind the Future program, which supports emerging research leaders for a 12-month term.
SCADA
Second-year dental student Fatemeh Ebrahimi garnered second place in the Basic and Translational Science Research Category in the annual Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application, more commonly referred to as SCADA. Ebrahimi was honored for her presentation, titled “Molecular Regulation of Facial Symmetry: Implications for Orofacial Cleft Pathogenesis.”
The purpose of the SCADA program is to advance the commitment to empower the next generation of dental leaders by showcasing student research and recognizing their passion for innovation and discovery.
Poster Presentations
Thaise Geremias, DDS, PhD, research scientist in the Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences, was awarded with the Best Abstract Award in the Postdoctoral Fellows category with the IADR Salivary Research Group.
Second-year dental student Armig Kalustian Henriquez also won Best Poster with the IADR Education Research Group.
Bloc Travel Grant
Two dental students — Philip Merry, second-year, and Amy Tran, fourth-year — were awarded with the AADOCR Bloc Travel Grant, to support their travel abroad for presentation of scientific papers on dental research.
The meeting marked AADOCR’s 55th Annual Meeting, which was also held in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.