October 2014    Visit our website! 
Treatment for Cancer
RSDM Researcher Gets NIH Grant for Groundbreaking New Drug
Dr. Scott Kachlany

A drug proven to kill leukemia cells in animals is closer to reaching patients after a Rutgers School of Dental Medicine researcher was awarded nearly $1 million from the National Institutes of Health to fund the process of getting FDA approvals. Scott Kachlany, an associate professor in the department of oral biology, and his company, Actinobac Biomed, Inc., were awarded a grant to develop a potential treatment for blood cancers and autoimmune inflammatory diseases. LEARN MORE.




Majority of Dentists Give Candy on Halloween

What's a dentist to do when Trick or Treaters come knocking? Most take the easy way out, according to a Delta Dental survey. Of 250 dentists polled, 60 percent hand out candy, while only five percent risk children's wrath with a toothbrush giveaway. LEARN MORE


 
Finding Community
Group for LBGT Students and Allies Part of Growing Trend
Dental Students For Equality
They came from campuses filled with Pride Weeks, rainbow flags and dozens of LGBT clubs and organizations. But when some students arrived at RSDM, they had to readjust. There were no LGBT groups at all. At dental schools nationwide, that's often the case. "It was different than what we had at college, where it was a very supportive setting and here there was no representation at all,'' said third-year student Joseph Zaino, a member of RSDM's first LGBT group, Dental Association for Equality, which was founded two years ago LEARN MORE
Dental Detective Work
RSDM Offers Forensics Course as Part of Continuing Education Program
Dr. Harry Zohn
After 9/11, Dr. Harry Zohn saw a dramatic shift in the field of forensic dentistry. "The emphasis changed from litigation and crime scenes to large-scale disasters,'' explains Zohn, who teaches a forensic dentistry course at RSDM. "The world became much smaller. It's not just about local crime anymore, it's global." In January, RSDM is opening up its forensics course to dental health care professionals. The course centers around the many ways in which dental remains, dental records and bite marks can be used as crime-solving information
Soothing Away Fears
RSDM Student Gives Patient New Smile, Eases Anxiety
Stephanie Pagin-Schmidt
Deborah Bishop knew it was time for new dentures but traumatic memories of a bad childhood dental visit kept her from making an appointment. By then, she was so unhappy with the way she looked, Bishop was practically a shut-in. "I was depressed by my smile. I wouldn't go anywhere or talk to old friends due to embarrassment,'' said Bishop. That changed when she met Student Doctor Stephanie Pagin-Schmidt. LEARN MORE
Tusks vs. Teeth
Guest Speaker is Dentist Turned Narwhal Expert
Dentist and narwhal expert Martin Nweeia with a tusk collection
In his Connecticut dental office, it's safe to say that Martin Nweeia doesn't treat many narwhals. For that, he has to travel to the Arctic, where he doubles as a marine mammal biologist, uncovering the mystery behind the narwhal's strange, elongated tusk. Nweeia, a guest speaker at RSDM's Research Seminar Series this month, has been researching narwhals for more than a decade. LEARN MORE
SAVE THE DATE

Scholar/Donor Awards Reception
November 12
6 p.m.
Oral Health Pavilion