The panel of judges for the competition were Dr. Benoit Soucy, CDA Chief Knowledge Officer, Dr. Mitch Taillon, CDA PastPresident, and Col. Jean-Pierre Picard, Deputy Director General Health Services—Clinical Services and Chief Dental Officer/ Director Dental Services, Canadian Forces Health Services. “Judging the CDA/Dentsply Sirona program participants’ presentations is always a pleasure, because the research is always of the highest quality,” says Dr. Soucy. “This year was exceptional because all of the student researchers could have been eligible to win. The topics were relevant, the content was solid and the presentations were all high quality. The difference between the candidates was small but real, and both Sofia and Mohammed fully deserved their rankings,” he says. 1st prize: Sofia Papadakos, Laval University “I was privileged to attend the event and learn about the interesting projects my fellow nominees have been working on,” says Papadakos. “There is incredible research being done across Canada, allowing us to progress in our field and provide the best care for our patients,” she says. Papadakos is in the midst of a 3-month internship in France and came back to Calgary specially to attend the event. “It was all very well planned, with social events that gave us the chance to network with dentists as well as having some time to attend the interesting talks and presentations that were on offer at the Alberta Wellness Summit,” she says. “When my name was announced as the winner, I felt so honoured and proud for myself, for Dr. Semlali and for Laval University.” (L. to r.): Dr. Soucy; Sofia Papadakos; Dr. Pretti Kartic, Senior Manager, Professional Affairs and Clinical Education, Dentsply Sirona Canada; Dr. Mitch Taillon, CDA Past-President. Sofia Papadakos (DDS 2024) earned the top prize for her research on rapamycin, a new drug for the treatment of oral cancer. Papadakos is a third-year dental student at Laval University and since her first year has been conducting research on alternative treatments for oral cancer under the supervision of Dr. Abdelhabib Semlali. “I would like to thank Dr. Semlali, who has always supported me and has attended every conference where I’ve presented our research,” she says. “Sharing our results and the new advancements from these projects is truly gratifying. I would also like to thank my faculty for nominating me to represent Laval University,” says Papadakos. 10 | 2023 | Issue 4
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTE5MTI=