Giselle Serrano, a UF undergraduate research student mentored by Dr. Lorena Baccaglini in the department of community dentistry and behavioral science at the UF College of Dentistry, won the prestigious Dr. Robert and Kay Schattner Award for best original presentation by a student during the 65th Annual American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM) meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The competition was open to oral medicine residents, fellows and students nationwide. The award includes a $1,500 cash prize.
Serrano’s four-year study, “Psychological findings in recurrent aphthous stomatitis,” is part of an ongoing series of NIH-funded large epidemiologic research grants aimed at identifying the cause of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (Principal Investigator: Lorena Baccaglini, DDS, MS, PhD, CCRP).
“It is very unusual for an undergraduate student to win this award and, in fact, Giselle may be the first,” Baccaglini said. “We are very proud of her accomplishment and the fact that she’s part of our program.”
This study is being conducted with support from the UF CTSI Clinical Research Center and NIH funding.
Photo: Giselle Serrano, right, and Dr. Lorena Baccaglini, during the 65th Annual American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM) meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.