American College of Dentists Honors Sheede Khalil DMD ‘12
Sheede Khalil DMD ’12 was presented with the American College of Dentists (ACD) Senior Student Award at a luncheon held on Saturday, January 28, at Yankee Dental Congress 37. Khalil was selected because of her outstanding achievements in academics, leadership, and initiative.
Khalil came to GSDM as a technical assistant in the lab of Associate Dean for Research Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska in 2005. From her research work at the School of Dental Medicine she was inspired to apply for the DMD program. She was accepted and began dental school in the Fall of 2008.
Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter said, “Dr. Kukuruzinska was so very impressed with the work of Sheede that I know she played a key role in convincing her to pursue a career in dental medicine, and Maria, I thank you for doing that.”
As a student, Khalil is still very much involved in research. She has been awarded a research fellowship from the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation, is the winner of the AADR’s Hutton competition, and has participated in various student research poster presentations. To date, she has authored or co-authored 11 abstracts pertaining to her research and also co-authored, with Dr. Kukuruzinska, a paper titled “Diverse Roles of E-cadherin in the Morphogenesis of the Submandibular Gland: Insights into the Formation of Acinar and Ductal Structures,” that appeared in a 2008 issue of the Journal of Developmental Dynamics.
During Sheede’s four years at GSDM, she has been an active member of the American Association for Dental Research, the International Association for Dental Research, and the Massachusetts Dental Society. She is also involved in community outreach and is an active volunteer with the BU chapters of ASDA, SNDA, HSDA, and the Student Research Group. In addition, during her recent externship rotation she helped put together a unique outreach program that takes place in local barbershops.
Dean Hutter added, “Since first being introduced to Sheede by Dr. Kukuruzinska six years ago, I have been continually impressed with her intelligence, dedication, motivation, can-do attitude, and wonderful personality. She is truly deserving of this award and I congratulate her on all that she has accomplished.”