School of Dentistry Celebrates Strong Showing at IADR/AADOCR/CADR Annual Session & Exhibition

National awards for two trainees and 45 presenters highlight Dental Bruin presence in San Diego.

Large group of people in front of UCLA School of Dentistry sign
By School of Dentistry Communications
4 min read

From March 25 to 28, a robust UCLA School of Dentistry research delegation traveled 100 miles south, returning home from San Diego with new connections, scientific knowledge, and – for two Dental Bruin trainees – shiny awards.

During the 2026 International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR), American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR), and Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR) Annual Session & Exhibition at the San Diego Convention Center, 45 UCLA-affiliated researchers presented their work while Andrew Tran, D.D.S. ’28, and Soomin Park, D.D.S., Ph.D./O. ’30, earned national honors.

“It was wonderful to see our UCLA School of Dentistry community well represented,” said Associate Dean of Research Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila. “The energy, engagement, and support from everyone truly stood out.” 

Andrew Tran posing with research poster
Andrew Tran, D.D.S. 28, earned an AADOCR Student Research Fellowship.


Tran received a Student Research Fellowship from the American Association of Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) – created to encourage U.S. dental students to consider careers in oral health research – and also earned the Consortium for Translational Orthodontic Research (CTOR) Award for Student Excellence in Orthodontic Research.

Dr. Park was presented with the 2026 Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) Henry M. Thornton Fellowship Award, which provides financial support to SCADA associates enrolled in postgraduate programs to promote continued scholarship and help support graduate education.

Another UCLA trainee who had an exceptionally fruitful week in San Diego was Rachel Kulchar, Ph.D./D.D.S. ’31. In addition to presenting a poster, she spoke at AADOCR’s Mini-Symposium for Young Investigators, chaired a session titled Oral Health in Changing Times: Bench, Chairside, and Capitol Hill, moderated the Comprehensive Dental Institute’s Empowering the Future Symposium, and was involved in several National Student Research Group initiatives, including competition judging.

soomin lee against a while background
Soomin Park, D.D.S. , Ph.D./O. '30, received SCADA's Henry M. Thornton Fellowship Award.

Institutionally, a major highlight of this year’s meeting was UCLA’s leadership in convening the first-ever gathering of all National Institutes of Health-funded K12 programs for Schools of Dentistry (UCLA, University of Michigan, and University of Buffalo). The session brought together principal investigators, scholars, faculty mentors, and external advisory board members to share research advances and reflect on the program’s eight-year trajectory, underscoring UCLA’s role in advancing clinician-scientist training.

As has become an annual IADR/AADOCR/CADR tradition, Dr. Hernandez-Kapila and Dean Paul H. Krebsbach hosted a social and networking mixer for the School’s traveling contingent – as well as alumni in attendance – supported in part by the UCLA Global Advisors Council. In addition, more than 100 Meeting attendees engaged with the School’s booth on the SDCC’s exhibit floor.

Convention booth engagement

UCLA-Affiliated Presenters at IADR/AADOCR/CADR 2026:

  • AAhana Goswami | Ph.D. student | Single-cell Isolation and Transcriptomic Profiling from Dentoalveolar Tissue in Mouse
  • Alec Juhl | D.D.S. student | Inflammatory Biomarkers and Oral Microbiome Alterations in Depression and Anxiety
  • Allan Radaic | Project Scientist | Nisin-loaded Nanoparticles Mitigate Treponema denticola-mediated Gene Dysregulation in hPDL Cells
  • Amar Hammad | D.D.S. student | Water Fluoridation Access in Indigenous Communities Across the United States
  • Andrew Tran | D.D.S. student | Nisin-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Effect on Orthodontic White Spot Lesions
  • Chantelle Nguyen | D.D.S. student | Patterns and Disparities in Prenatal Dental Care Utilization in California
  • Davi Neto de Araujo Silva | Postdoctoral Scholar | Genetic Influence on Early Implant Bone Loss
  • David Wong | Faculty | Symposium Saliva Liquid Biopsy: a Paradigm Shift in Non-Invasive Cancer Detection
  • Eunbin Bae | Postdoctoral Scholar | Premature occlusal contacts induce MRONJ in the osseointegrated dental implants by eliciting sterile inflammation
  • Farnaz Younessian | Lecturer | Application of Clear Aligners in Orthognathic Surgical Cases: Opportunities and Challenges
  • Francisco Ramos-Gomez | Faculty | Implementation of an Infant Oral Care Program with Interprofessional Education
  • Hanzhi Zhang | Ph.D. student | Nisin Mitigates Orally Administered-Treponema Denticola-Mediated Molecular Changes in the Trigeminal Ganglion
  • Honesty Boone | D.D.S. student | Dental Malocclusion in Patients With Craniofacial Fibrous Dysplasia
  • Jason Lo | D.D.S. student | Oral Cancer Detection and Prevention in Jamaica: Three-Year Community-Based Initiative
  • Jiaping Pan | Resident | Inflammation-Driven NF-κB And Early Chromatin Changes In OSCC
  • Jiaxin Geng | Resident | Treponema Denticola-Mediated Bone Loss and Nisin’s Therapeutic Potential
  • Joey Junghoon Kim | Ph.D. student | Effect of Nicotine/Cannabis on Porphyromonas gingivalis And Streptococcus gordonii
  • Julie Y. Kim | Faculty | Peer to Peer Tutoring in Dental Education: A Case Study
  • Jung-Hwa Lim | Project Scientist | Effect of Zirconia Surface Conditioning on Physico-Chemical Properties and Resin Bond Strength
  • Justin Choi | D.D.S. student | Biological Memory of UV-Photofunctionalized Titanium: Sustained Fibroblast Growth Despite Aging
  • Leah Ye | Resident | MSX1 Regulates Cell Adhesion to Drive Mandibular Arch Elongation
  • Luke Deukwon Jo | Faculty | Randomized Clinical Trial Using Ti-Nb-Zr Implants: One-Year Follow-Up After Loading
  • Muhammad Rashid | D.D.S. student | Longitudinal Quality-of-Life Outcomes Following Root Canal Treatment, A Systematic Review
  • Naryung Kim | D.D.S. student | Maxillary Aesthetic-Zone Teeth Dimensions’ Effect on Facial Profile: Pilot Study
  • Paul Krebsbach | Faculty | Transforming Research and Academic Careers: the Future of Dental School Models
  • Paula Ortega Verdugo | Faculty | Social Determinants of Health, Culture and Novel Gender Disparities in Childhood Caries Risk: An Analysis of a Predominantly Hispanic Urban Cohort
  • Pin-Ying Li | Resident | Nisin Mitigates Neuroinflammation Triggered by Treponema Denticola-Mediated Oral Infection
  • Rachel Kulchar | D.D.S./Ph.D. student | A Physiologically-Competent Human Salivary Gland Organ Culture Model
  • Ranhui Xi | Resident | The Role of RNF43/ZNRF3 In Periodontal Epithelial Rests Neoplasia
  • Renxing Dang | M.S. student | Structural Comparison of Two Representative Glass Fiber Posts
  • Samin Sirous | Resident | Therapeutic Potential of Nisin in Periodontitis-Associated Temporomandibular Joint Disease
  • Sanika Gokhale | Staff | Empirical Storage-Additive Testing for Virome Characterization Across the Oral-Gut-Brain Axis
  • Sei Jin Kim | D.D.S. student | Silver Diamine Fluoride and Pulp Preservation in Adults: Critical Influence of Caries Depth and Age Over Five Years
  • Shaiva Thakar | Preceptor | Hydrophobic UDMA-IBOMA as Bis-GMA-TEGDMA Alternative: Physicochemical Property Evaluation
  • Shane N. White | Faculty | What are the Current Barriers in Dental Education, Research, and Health Systems in 2026?
  • Shilpa Gautam | Resident | Differentially Expressed Salivary exRNAs For Monitoring Gingivitis
  • Shveta Duggal | Resident | Meta-Analysis of Predictable Overbite Outcomes: Aligners Versus Fixed Appliances
  • Soheil Shahbazi | D.D.S. student | Evaluating Sequencing Methodologies for Microbiome (Bacteria and Virus) Analysis in Biobanked Saliva
  • Sol Kim | Faculty | Rab7 Orchestrates Autophagy-Linked Secretion for Osteoclast Bone Resorption
  • Soomin Park | Ph.D. student | Stem-Cell-Derived EVs in a Mechano-Sensitive Hydrogel for Muscle Regeneration
  • Tuan Do | Resident | Bridging the Gap in Pediatric Preventive Dental Care in California
  • Yan Wang | Faculty | Compare Oral Microbiome in NHANES Individuals with and without Depression
  • Yoshihiro Kitaoka | Postdoctoral Scholar | Inhibition of NAAA prevents acid-induced dural nociceptor sensitization
  • Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila | Faculty | Symposium: The Oral Virome-Implications for Health and Disease; The Human Virome Characterization Center for the Oral-Gut-Brain Axis- Emerging data and lessons learned
  • Zahra Linda Nematollahi | M.S. student | AI in Regenerative Dentistry: A Systematic Review of Challenges