Second-year students in the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine gathered in the Academic Rotunda to showcase their research posters for the 2026 Medical and Dental Student Research Day.
“Today’s a celebration of scholarly curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge,” said Dr. Kristin Guertin, assistant professor of public health sciences and director of summer research for medical students. “The students here today have spent the better part of the last year engaged in research in a topic of their choice. They had the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in research over the summer after their first year of medical or dental school. The projects that you will see today reflect a broad spectrum of scholarship.”
School of Dental Medicine Dean Dr. Steven Lepowsky delivered a welcome message to kick off the day’s events.
“This morning, we will showcase the incredible talents and the remarkable achievements of all of our students,” said Lepowsky. “Each year, we are thoroughly impressed by the quality and the rigor of the scholarly work presented by the students. I am confident that this year will be no different.”
Most of the one hundred student presenters at Research Day were participants in the UConn Summer Research Fellowship which awards a stipend, funded by generous donations, to support students over the summer. During the Research Day poster presentations, students showcased the culmination of their research with faculty, mentors and fellow classmates.
One of the students, Gauri Sharma, mentored by Dr. Aditya Tadinada in the School of Dental Medicine, evaluated AI models in identifying different types of smile lines. In her research, Sharma asked both AI models and dentists to grade photos of different smile lines. With smile being a subjective topic, Sharma was not surprised to find that there was slight disagreement between the dentists. The two AI models tested, on the other hand, were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of agreement. However, Sharma concluded that with more training, AI can be a useful tool in dentistry.
“AI cannot fully replicate human judgment” Sharma concluded from her research. “AI is also what we think too, so the more that dental sees AI, and more, and the more we correct and train it, it does show promise.”
Dr. Bruce T. Liang, dean of the School of Medicine, also shared some words with the students ahead of the keynote address.
“This is so important to the medical school that we really want to foster your lifelong learning and self-learning habit, and because you’re going to need this as you go through the rest of your medical career and dental career as well.”
Liang continued, “I saw some of your posters and they’re just so exciting. I hope that you continue your desire and motivation to discover, and to be the first one in the world to discover something—which might not lead to something—but in the overall scheme of things, it will add to scientific knowledge.”
The program continued with a keynote address, The Costs of Breast Cancer Care, given by Dr. Rachel Adams Greenup, professor of surgery and chief of breast surgery at Yale School of Medicine. In her keynote address, Greenup defined value in healthcare and its role in personalized treatment planning, and recognized finances as a measure of social determinants of health.
Guertin said, “We would like to express our sincere appreciation for the generous donations from our many sponsors in support and recognition of the hard work of our medical and dental research students. Special thanks to our judges and expert reviewers for their review of the proposals, abstracts, posters and judging this event. Lastly, congratulations to our medical and dental student researchers and their faculty mentors!”
The winners of the 2026 Medical and Dental Research Day are listed below.
School of Medicine
Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Gross Award for Excellence in Research Achievement
Eve Cathcart
Josie Ford
John Shanley Memorial Global Health Award
Ellen Fuller
William M. Wadleigh Memorial Award for Cross-Cultural and International Health Research
Cameron O’Connell
Dean’s Award
Awsam Bouabid
Kevin Chudy
Peer Recognition Award for Excellence in Research
Zoe Barnett
Connecticut Academy of Family Practice
Kyle Keegan
Connecticut Holistic Health Association
Minna Holleck
Lawrence G. Raisz Award for Excellence in Musculoskeletal Research
Andriy Grynyk
Primary Care Excellence and Innovation Award
Sabina London
School of Dental Medicine
Dean’s Award
Mikaela Kutrolli
Ted Olivier Pasquette
Associate Dean’s Award
Cole Angell
Dentsply-Sirona Student Clinician Award
Anish Shah
Horace Wells Award for Innovation in Dentistry
Madison Taylor McGee
Joseph Scott Nelson
James and Ella Burr McManus Award for Excellence in Dental Research
Gauri Sharma
Katherine Hill Henderson
Dental Student Research Society Award
Faith Ye
Enzo Abruzzese
Gustave Perl Memorial Award
Edona Zhuta
Tobechi Nwokeji
Connecticut Holistic Health Association
Daisha Alana Drake
Omicron Kappa Upsilon- Phi Chi Chapter Awards
OKU-Basic Science Research Category
Adhvika Arunkumar
OKU-Clinical Science Research Category
Lina Layakoubi
