The 2025 SCADA Award winners were recognized during the opening ceremony of the AADOCR 54th Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with the Canadian Association for Dental Research Annual Meeting.
Dental manufacturer Dentsply Sirona and the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR), which have co-sponsored the SCADA program since 2017, recognized the winners of the 2025 Student Competition to Advance Dental Research and Its Applications (SCADA) Award this spring.
The SCADA program was first presented at the American Dental Association (ADA) Centennial Meeting in New York in 1959 to encourage students to explore the importance of dental research. In 2017, AADOCR joined forces with Dentsply Sirona to sponsor the SCADA program, which has been involved in the competition since its inception.
Over the years, the competition has expanded globally, attracting more than 7,000 dental hygiene students and undergraduates from 39 countries. Participants will join the SCADA Alumni Association, joining an elite group of programs competing at their respective schools and national levels.
Alumni can benefit from this global network of professionals connecting students, dental schools, researchers and clinicians. Dentsply Sirona said many contestants benefited from opportunities to advance their research skills and move into leadership roles within dental professional organizations, academia and industry.
“We are honored to support the SCADA competition and help the next generation of dental professionals and innovators to emerge,” said Professor Rainer Seemann, Chief Clinical Officer at Dentsply Sirona, in a press release last week. “We firmly believe that student-led research is the catalyst for future breakthroughs in oral health care. Congratulations to this year’s winners!”
SCADA 2025 Winning Projects
Clinical Sciences & Public Health Research Category
First Place – Alex Matthews, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Dental hygienists’ awareness and support of the emerging oral health workforce.
Second Place – Migelle Paolo Orobia, University of California, San Francisco. Restoration of carious and infected dentin using the PILP remineralization technique .
3rd Place – John Woodward, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis. Glandular odontogenic cyst traces in dentigerous cysts: a clinicopathological analysis.
Basic and Translational Science Research Category
1st Place – Sarah Aitken, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Role of Streptococcus AgI/II adhesins in early oral biofilm formation.
2nd Place – Daniel Thomas Fleming, Ohio State University, Columbus. Identification of ADAM10 chaperones and substrates during enamel formation.
3rd Place – Jonathan Banks, University of Illinois at Chicago. NG2/CSPG4 regulates biomineralization in mandibular fracture healing.
“On behalf of the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR), we would like to congratulate this year’s winners and all entrants to the 2025 competition,” added Dr. Effie Iannidou, AADOCR President. “Support for SCADA and its commitment to fostering a culture of curiosity and academic excellence among emerging dental professionals remains critical to advancing patient care and improving lives.”
This recognition of emerging talent also reflects Dentsply Sirona’s commitment to “Beyond: Acting for a Better World,” part of the company’s sustainability strategy, which includes supporting the next generation of dental professionals.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company is committed to empowering young innovators, shaping the future of oral health and contributing to lasting, positive change in global healthcare by investing in education, research and mentorship.
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