Page 12 - Dentistry Magazine 2022

12 DENTISTRY 2022
PEOPLE
The School of Dentistry community is great because of our people: the faculty, staff and students who work their hardest and achieve excellence. We would like to honor some of the people in our midst who achieved great things this year.
Faculty and staff showed their commitment to research, community service and excellence in care.
Michelle Arnett, RDH, MS, BS, assistant professor of dental hygiene, received a Colgate CARES award to explore the efficacy of Motivational Interviewing (MI)
at oral hygiene appointments. A year-long research grant
that provides $30,000 to a researcher in their first five years as an investigator, the CARES award seeks to encourage young investigators in basic science, translation-
al science and clinical care. Arnett is the second dental hygienist in the history of the grant to receive the award. Arnett is excited that the grant will allow her to see the longitudinal impacts of MI on oral hygiene outcomes, and is particularly grateful that the grant encourages new researchers. “I’m a big believer in the patient-provider rela- tionship: building trust, helping your patient achieve their goals and what they want from oral-systemic health,” she said. “We need a better communication approach
for patients that are interested in positive behavior change, and I believe utilizing MI will help patients reach their goals.”
Sara Johnson, MA, Assistant Dean for Student and Resident Affairs, received
the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriot Award in March 2022. The award recognizes efforts to support service members as they navigate the intricacies
of their civilian employment. Johnson was nominated by Adam Hildebrandt, DDS ’22 and second lieutenant in the Minnesota Army Reserve National Guard, in gratitude for her support throughout school. “Sara was supportive of me attending my Army Trainings and having them completed within the two years of me Commissioning as an officer in the Army,” he explained. “Her attitude was always, ‘let’s make this work.’” Johnson was honored and surprised to receive the award. “Dental school is hard, and you’re doing something equally as hard if not harder,” she said, sharing her family’s personal connections to the military. “I’m just so grateful to you for your service and your dedication.”
Isha Mutreja, MSc, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Biomaterials, and Kim Mansky, PhD, professor and director of the Minnesota Craniofacial Research Training program, won an Office of Academic Clinical Affairs Faculty Research Grant to study methods of using osteoclast exo- somes for bone growth. The two research- ers partnered with Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, assistant professor in the Medical School,
on Designing an inject- able system using osteoclast exosomes
for bone regeneration. The team seeks to improve upon currently- used treatments like bone auto- and allo- graphs in transplant procedures, exploring the efficacy of stem cell therapy-based approach- es. Mutreja is excited to learn from Mansky as
a mentor and to work
across areas. “Interpro- fessional research gives a platform to bring experts from different fields together,” she
said. “Everyone is trying to solve the same problem, but approaching it from differ- ent angles based on their expertise and interest.”
Rachel Uppgaard, DDS, clinical associ- ate professor of oral and maxil- lofacial surgery, received the American College of Oral and Max- illofacial Surgeons Elaine A. Stuebner
Scholars Award for 2022. An essay-based award that honors one female oral and maxillofacial surgeon each year, the Steubner Award enables the recipient to attend an ACOMS continuing education meeting in honor of Elaine Alice Stuebner, the first woman certified as a diplomate to the American Board of Oral and Maxillo- facial Surgery. “Elaine Stuebner was an in- credible surgeon at the forefront of women becoming oral and maxillofacial surgeons,” Uppgaard reflected upon receiving the award. “She set the stage for the rest of
us. This is an incredible gift, and I am grateful to ACOMS for selecting me and the surgeons who have mentored me.”