Press Releases

AADOCR Announces 2023 AADOCR Hatton Competition and Award Winners

Alexandria, VA – The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) has announced the winners of the 2023 AADOCR Hatton Competition. The winners were recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the AADOCR, which was held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), that took place on March 15, 2023.

The Hatton Award was first presented as the "Novice Award" in 1953 and is the oldest IADR/AADOCR Award. The name was changed to the Edward H. Hatton Award in 1957 to honor IADR past president Edward H. Hatton. The competition is designed to provide an opportunity for the best junior investigators from all IADR Divisions and Sections to present their research at the annual IADR General Session. A major goal of the IADR Hatton Competition and Awards is to give as many students and new investigators as possible access to the IADR General Session, as well as the experience to present their research to a global audience. 

Candidates presented their research in a closed-door competition on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. 
All IADR Division competitors, including the six winners from the American Division (AADOCR), will compete in the IADR Hatton Competition on June 20, 2023, at the IADR/LAR General Session & Exhibition with WCPD in Bogotá, Colombia.

The winners are:

JUNIOR CATEGORY
1st – Michael Troka
Identification of Disease-Driving Cell Signaling Interactions in scRNAseq Data
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

2nd – Kisa Iqbal
LSD1-Induced Signaling Mechanisms Inhibition Sensitizes Oral Cancer for Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy
Boston University, MA

SENIOR CATEGORY
1st – Armond June
The Implications of Periodontitis on the Oral-Gut Microbiome Axis
University at Buffalo, NY

2nd – Emily Fisher
Wnt/β-Catenin Epigenetic Modifications Drive Age-Dependent Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Evolution
Boston University, MA

POST-DOCTORAL CATEGORY
1st – Marwa Afifi 
Myc Loss Mediates Oncogene-induced Senescence in Oral Premalignant Lesions
National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

2nd – Justin Burrell
Human Gingival-Derived NCSCs Enhance Functional Recovery Following Nerve Fusion
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of the International Association for Dental Research. Learn more at www.aadocr.org