GSDM Students Make BU Proud at Hinman Symposium
Sultan Mohammed DMD ‘13 won Most Outstanding Presentation in Clinical Research at this year’s Hinman Symposium, which took place in Memphis, Tennessee, Oct. 28-30, for his poster, “Upregulation of Cthrc1 N-glycoprotein Marks OSCC Tumor Spread.”
“The work I presented investigated the role of N-glycosylation on the planar cell polarity pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC),” Mohammed says. He went on to explain, “We found that the cthrc1, a glycoprotein which promotes the planar cell polarity pathway by stabilizing some of its components, was upregulated in OSCC. Additionally, our results show that the N-glycosylation status of cthrc1 is increased. These results suggest that in OSCC the planar cell polarity pathway is affected by aberrant N-glycosylation.”
Mohammed worked in the laboratory of Associate Dean for Research Maria Kukuruzinska during two APEX rotations and participated in the Intensive Research Program (IRP). He worked on molecular mechanisms underlying oral cancer progression as a member of a team that included PhD candidate Gangli Liu and surgical oncology fellow Basem Jamal.
In March, Mohammed presented related research at Science Day.
“We are very proud that our pre-doctoral research students continue to contribute to advances in dental medicine and the scholarly mission of the GSDM,” says Dr. Kukuruzinska.
Sonia Kim DMD 13 represented GSDM in the oral presentation category with, “Protein-mediated Biomineralization: The Role of Amelogenin in Enamel Formation.” Her mentor was Dr. Henry Margolis from the Forsyth Institute.
This research won Kim the Predoctoral Student Oral Presentation award at GSDM Science Day 2011.
“It was wonderful to see dental students from all across the continent sharing their high-caliber research,” Kim said. “For me, it reinforced how critical research is to modern dentistry, and just how expansive our profession is. I am grateful for the opportunity to have attended and represent BU with Sultan.”
“Congratulations to Sultan Mohammed for winning the Most Outstanding Presentation in Clinical Research, Sonia Kim for her excellent oral presentation at the Symposium, and Dr. Kukuruzinska for her outstanding mentoring of Sultan,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter.