ECU dental faculty member honored for research

Dr. Roopwant Kaur, clinical assistant professor of operative dentistry at the ECU School of Dental Medicine, was honored for her contributions to research at the annual UNC Graduate School Recognition Celebration at UNC-Chapel Hill.

A 2012 graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, Kaur was among 23 alumni to receive the external fellowship award in recognition of research funded by sources outside the university. She was the only awardee chosen from the Department of Operative Dentistry.

Kaur’s thesis project, “Influence of dentin desensitizers on the microtensile bond strengths of self-etch and etch-and-rinse adhesives to dentin,” was funded by Heraeus Kulzer, a leading supplier of dental products and materials.

She also received a 2012 Bloc Travel Grant from the American Association for Dental Research and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research for research, travel and presentation at the International Association of Dental Research annual meeting in Foz De Iguazu, Brazil.

In addition, she received the Elsie and Baxter Sapp Fellowship established by Dr. Baxter Sapp, a general dentist in Durham, and his wife, Elsie. The fund supports outstanding post-doctoral students pursuing advanced degrees at the School of Dentistry.

A 2005 graduate of Buddha Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital in Patna, India, Kaur completed residency training at Government Dental College and Hospital in Jaipur, India. She earned a master of science and certificate in operative dentistry in 2012 from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry.

Kaur is a faculty member in ECU’s Department of General Dentistry; she teaches both pre-clinical and clinical courses. Her current research topic is “Effect of instructions delivery format (Ibook vs oral presentation) on the outcome of a pre-clinical wax carving exercise.”