Research Day

Research Day is an annual event hosted by the College of Dentistry to showcase research conducted by our dental students, hygiene students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, staff, faculty and residents. It celebrates their exceptional efforts as part of the outstanding research program here at the college.

Research Day 2025 

The 41st Annual Research Day will take place on Friday, February 28, 2025. Dr. Donald Chi, who is the Associate Dean for Research & Lloyd and Kay Chapman Endowed Chair for Oral Health at the University of Washington School of Dentistry, will be our Research Day Keynote Distinguished Speaker. The title of his talk is, “Addressing Alaska Native Children’s Oral Health Inequities through a Community-Based Sociobehavioral Intervention.” 

Dr. Tammy Duangthip will be our faculty speaker. Duangporn (Tammy) Duangthip, DDS, MSc, PhD is a tenured Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr Duangthip’s research focuses on caries management, therapeutic use of fluoride, and children’s oral health. The title of Dr. Duangthip’s talk is, “Bridging Science and Smiles to Advance Oral Health Equity.”

Donald Chi
Dr. Donald Chi

Research Day also prepares our students for the national competitions of the International Association for Dental Research/American Association of Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (IADR/AADOCR) and provides valuable feedback to students from senior researchers and distinguished faculty. Top presenters qualify to compete in the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) or at the nationally recognized Hinman Student Dental Research Symposium.

Every year, the event features a distinguished lecturer from among the world’s leading oral health researchers.

Research Day 2024

The 2024 event took place on Friday, March 1, 2024. Nobel Laureate Steven Chu, PhD, served as the Keynote Distinguished Speaker, discussing "Climate Change and Innovative Paths Towards a More Sustainable Future." The faculty lecturer was John Bartlett, PhD, who discussed "The Surprising Role of Matrix Metalloproteinase-20 (MMP20) in Enamel Development."

Dr. Steven Chu
Dr. Steven Chu