Dr. Rajesh Lalla, professor and associate dean for research in the School of Dental Medicine, and Dr. Prazwala Chirravur, assistant professor, both recently received awards at the American Academy of Oral Medicine\u2019s (AAOM) annual conference in Dallas, Texas.<\/p>\n
Lalla received the Samuel Charles Miller Award for outstanding scientific contributions to the field of oral medicine. The award is the highest scientific award given by the AAOM, and is named after the founder of the academy. \u00a0As the award winner, Lalla gave a one-hour plenary talk during the scientific program. In his talk, Lalla shared findings from multicenter clinical research studies (OraRad 1 and 2), that he has led over more than ten years. These studies have been funded by NIH grants on which he is a Principal Investigator. These landmark studies have resulted in several novel findings related to oral side-effects after radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, with direct impacts on clinical practice. Lalla has published more than 120 scientific articles and is among the top 2% of scientists worldwide, based on the frequency of his work being cited.<\/p>\n
Chirravur, a board-certified oral medicine specialist, received the Saudi Society of Oral Medicine Award for Outstanding Contribution and Excellence in the Field of Oral Medicine for her oral presentation on recent findings from the OraRad 2 study. Chirravur is mentored by Lalla, who has included her in collaborative OraRad research efforts as a co-investigator and enabled her to present research findings at the AAOM conferences. Last year, at the 2025 AAOM conference, which was held jointly with the European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM), Chirravur gave an oral presentation on selected results from the OraRad 1 study. She received the Best Oral Presentation Award, which was jointly awarded by EAOM and AAOM. Her involvement in these projects has led to other scholarly collaborations, manuscript submissions, and participation in international initiatives.<\/p>\n
The awards were presented by the president of the AAOM, Dr. Sunday Akintoye, during the conference\u2019s awards dinner.<\/p>\n
“Dr. Rajesh Lalla is fully deserving of the prestigious AAOM Samuel Charles Miller Award. His outstanding mentorship skills have also been recognized through the multiple awards received by Dr. Prazwala Chirravur,” said Akintoye.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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