Topics at a glance: Salivary diagnostics research attracts grant funding … UTDB sees 40 percent increase in scholarship funds … LRC announces arrival of 10 new computers … UTDB welcomes new professor in Endodontics … Chen's paper is finalist in medical informatics competition … Order your Boo Bags now for friends, family, fun

KUDOS:
Salivary diagnostics research attracts
grant funding

Charles Streckfus, D.D.S., clinical professor in Diagnostic Sciences, has recently been notified of three grant awards supporting salivary diagnostics research at the UT Dental Branch. The awards include:

• $225,000 from the Avon Foundation
• $65,000 from the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation
• $44,824 from the Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering Seed Grant Program.

UTDB sees 40 percent increase in scholarship funds

The UT Dental Branch has increased its total dedicated scholarship funds by more than 40 percent from September 2006 through mid-October 2007, said UTDB Development Director John Greer. UTDB students were awarded 31 separate scholarships for 2007-08, and several new scholarships are becoming available for future classes, including the following:

• The Alliance of the Texas Dental Association Memorial Scholarship Fund
• The President James T. and Nancy Beamer Willerson Dental Branch Scholarship
• The Lola B. and James R. Ballinger, D.D.S. Scholarship in General Dentistry
• The Erbert William "Danny" D'Anton, D.D.S. Memorial Scholarship
• The T. Bradford Willis, D.D.S., Scholarship in Pediatric Dentistry

Phil Pierpont, D.D.S., associate dean for student and alumni affairs, said all UTDB students are considered to be potential scholarship recipients, so no formal application process is necessary. For information on donating to or setting up a scholarship, contact the Development Office at 713-500-4380 or e-mail John.Greer@uth.tmc.edu.

Chen's paper is finalist in medical informatics competition

The American Medical Informatics Association has chosen “Comparing Text-Based and Graphic User Interfaces for Novice and Expert Users,” a paper by Jung-Wei “Anna” Chen, D.D.S., as one of eight finalists in the Student Paper Competition. Winners will be named at the AMIA’s Annual Symposium next month in Chicago. The paper is titled "Comparing Text-Based and Graphic User Interfaces for Novice and Expert Users."

Chen earned a master's degree in health informatics from The University of Texas School of Health Information Sciences in 2002, where she currently is a doctoral candidate. Earlier this year, she became interim program director of the Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Program at the UT Dental Branch.

Pedram Bohluli, D.D.S., Ph.D.

UTDB welcomes new professor in Endodontics

Pedram Bohluli, D.D.S., Ph.D., joined the UT Dental Branch Department of Endodontics as an assistant professor Oct. 1. Bohluli earned his dental degree from Shahid Beheshti University College of Dental Medicine in Tehran, Iran, then received a master of science degree and doctorate from The University of Texas at Arlington/University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He earned a certificate in endodontics from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in New York.

Bohluli's doctoral dissertation was on "Drug-Eluting, Antibody-Conjugated Nanoparticles Targeting Vascular Endothelium in Thyroid Cancer." His research at Columbia University focused on a "Novel Drug Delivery System for the Controlled Release of Intracanal Medicament Within the Root Canal System, and Heat Transfer Modeling and Simulating the Thermal Behavior of Tooth Components During Root Obturation Procedures."

He was a graduate teaching assistant at UT Arlington/UT Southwestern Medical School and at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in both clinical and pre-clinical endodontics. Bohluli is a member of the American Association of Endodontists, the American Dental Education Association, the Nanotechnology Foundation of Texas, the Biomedical Engineering Students Society, and the Iranian Dental Association. He will spend his time doing research and teaching DDS students, as well as graduate students in the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Endodontics. His office is in Room 202, and he can be reached at Ext. 4225 or by e-mail, Pedram.Bohluli@uth.tmc.edu.

Order your Boo Bags now for friends, family, fun

The deadline to order "Boo Bags" from the UT Dental Branch's University Classified Staff Council (UCSC) representatives is Thursday, Oct. 25. The bags of candy will be delivered Wednesday, Oct. 31. All proceeds from this event go directly to the UCSC Scholarships awarded annually. Boo Bags are a great way to "treat" others who have treated you well, and also make a wonderful way for supervisors to thank their employees. You can even order boo bags with a message to take home to your children. The bags are only $2 each.

Please fill out the order form and give it to one of the UCSC representatives along with payment in the form of cash or checks made out to the UCSC. If you are ordering Boo Bags for more than one recipient, you must fill out a form for each. The dental branch's UCSC representatives are Trish McFarland (Ext. 4105, Room 4.109B), Maria Segovia (Ext. 4370, Room 105) and Cynthia Nelson (Ext. 4454, Room 2.048)