By:Hector Flores
To this day, Khouryawad, a junior at John F. Kennedy High School, doesn't remember what exactly piqued her interest in the field, but when she decided to enter the school's Advanced Science Research program, she knew her research would focus on dentistry.
Her work in the program has since yielded potentially groundbreaking results that have raising eyebrows in the dental world. She's been invited to present her work at the annual meeting of the International Association of Dental Research, making her the youngest person ever to be invited to speak before the association.
As Khouryawad began thinking about potential research projects in her sophomore year, she decided to explore periodontal ligament regeneration. This research examines the possibility of re-growing periodontal ligaments and attaching them to dental implants. "These ligaments connect and support the tooth placement in the jaw, and provide sensory mobility," Khouryawad explained. "These ligaments also adapt to occasional trauma."
When children or teenagers have braces, these ligaments make it possible for their teeth to be realigned. When a tooth is removed and replaced by an implant, however, the ligaments are lost. Khouryawad's research examines whether it is possible to re-grow them and attach them from the jaw to the dental implant, restoring tooth sensation and mobility. If successful, this procedure would make it possible for children and adults with dental implants to use braces.
Her research is considered so groundbreaking that when Khouryawad submitted her preliminary report to the IADR, she was invited to give a presentation on her findings during its next annual meeting in Baltimore, from March 9-12.
"I'm the youngest person to be accepted to present their research at an annual meeting," Khouryawad said. "People from all over the world will be present for the poster-board presentation. The world's top scientists and doctors will be there, and being a high-school student makes this so exciting."
Before Khouryawad, the youngest person to present his or her research findings to IADR was a second-year dental student.
"I'm very proud of her, and it's always a pleasure to work with highly motivated students," said Barbi Frank, chair of Kennedy's Science Department. "Rozina is a very determined young lady, and a role model for future researchers. You never know what you can do until you try."
Khouyawad's father, Issa, 45, an adjunct professor at Nassau Community College, attributes much of his daughter's success to the hard work of his wife, Rima, 38, an accountant. "My wife is very committed," he said. "After work, she would travel with Rozina into Manhattan so that Rozina could do her research [at New York University's College of Dentistry]."
Rozina's older sister Christina, 17, a senior at Kennedy, is also in the Advanced Science Research program, studying early detection of prostate cancer through urine.
Christina credits her sister's success to the program. "They gave us a lesson [during sophomore year] on time management and being able to do things in advance so you're not procrastinating," she said.
With the early success of her research project, Rozina plans on attending dental college at New York University and helping fix people's smiles. "I chose dentistry because I want to be able to help people," she said. "Many people feel self-conscience about their smiles, and I want to help them."
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
