December 2, 2016

The American College of Prosthodontists Education Foundation (ACPEF) and the ACP Research Committee selected Dr. Walaa Ahmed to receive one of its Research Fellowship Grants. Walaa is in the fourth year of UBC’s graduate prosthodontics program undertaking a PhD in Craniofacial Science combined with a diploma in Prosthodontics.

Dr. Walaa Ahmed

The grant will financially support her research which aims to investigate and identify the source of intrinsic dimensional changes that zirconia undergoes when processed for CAD-CAM prosthodontics, particularly at the sintering stage. Her work also investigates how different features such as marginal finishing and crown thickness can affect the overall dimensional changes and consequent fitting of prosthodontics made from monolithic zirconia.

Walaa’s supervisor, Dr. Ricardo Carvalho, professor in the Department of Oral Biological and Medical Sciences, explains the expected outcome of the project is to provide clinical guidance on how preparations and processing of the material can be modified to improve fitting and marginal adaptation of prosthodontics made of zirconia.

The ACPEF notes competition was keen with numerous high quality applications. Her grant application was selected due to its merit and its potential impact on the specialty of prosthodontics.