1st — Dr. Lina Alhudaithy
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
2026 Student Honorees
Recognized this year
Congratulations to AAPHD's 2026 student award winners — across the Leverett Graduate, Predoctoral, and Doctoral merit categories, plus 113 Student Recognition Awards in Community Dentistry.
Leverett Graduate Student Merit Award
Graduate-level winners
2nd — Dr. Blaire Mirmow
Jacobi Medical Center
3rd — Dr. Amanda Swanson
Pediatric Dentistry of Central Ohio
Honorable Mention — Dr. Rajesh Gururaghavendran
Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester
Honorable Mention — Dr. Jamachi Orji
Jacobi Medical Center
Predoctoral Student Merit Award
Predoctoral-level winners
1st — Margaret Tajirian
UCLA School of Dentistry
2nd — Kyanna Spain
Woody L Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech
2nd — Kailyn Fiocca
Woody L Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech
3rd — Alex Matthews
Case Western Reserve University
Honorable Mention — Kelly Yang
Woody L Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech
Honorable Mention — Usama Kamal
Woody L Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech
Honorable Mention — Subhi Omar
Woody L Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech
Leverett Doctoral Student Merit Award
Doctoral-level winners
1st — Nithya Ramesh
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
2nd — Pamela Nwachukwu
University of Iowa College of Dentistry
3rd — Rohit Baal Balasundaram
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Honorable Mention — Anas Olwi
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Student Recognition Awards in Community Dentistry
113 student honorees
A senior dental or dental hygiene student per accredited program in the U.S. and Canada — recognized for community service in dental public health. The full list of 2026 recipients is available through the AAPHD office.
Request the full recipient list