Abdel Hameed Mahmoud, a PhD candidate at the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, recently received first place for his research poster at the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mahmoud's study titled “An Innovative Injectable Retrievable and Sustainable Drug Delivery System for Endodontic Therapy” presented a new thermo-reversible hydrogel. This innovation, when combined with calcium hydroxide and salicylic acid, showed effective eradication of E. faecalis biofilm and improved delivery and retrievability in endodontic cases. His work was chosen from over 160 participants at this significant conference in the field.
“It’s truly an incredible honor to have my research recognized by the AAE,” Mahmoud stated. “Winning first place among such talented residents and students from prestigious schools across the country is both humbling and deeply rewarding. In addition to it being a personal achievement, it highlights the exceptional clinical and research training I’ve received at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine. I’m especially grateful for the incredible support and mentorship from my supervisors. Their guidance has been instrumental throughout this journey.”
Stephen Walker, interim associate dean for research at the SDM, who contributed to the paper, remarked, “We are so proud of Dr. Mahmoud not only for being acknowledged in such a fashion, but for the commitment to excellence he demonstrated through each step in the research process.”
The team of mentors on the project included Miriam Rafailovich, distinguished professor at Stony Brook University’s Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering; Walker and Marcia Simon from the SDM’s Department of Oral Biology and Pathology; and Thomas Manders, Jerome Cymerman, and Rita O’Dwyer from the Department of Periodontics and Endodontics. Mahmoud's victory follows his receipt of the Graduate Student Research Award for the same work at the SDM’s annual Research Symposium.
More details are available on the School of Dental Medicine website.