Finishing strong
Oral pathology resident Dr. Allison Lee has a lot to celebrate. Her upcoming graduation from Texas A&M School of Dentistry is a pinnacle moment in her academic career, and she was recently awarded two significant honors – the Shafer Award from the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and the dental school’s Clinical Graduate Research Award.
The national Shafer Award is presented annually to the resident who scores the highest on the fellowship exam, and the Clinical Graduate Research Award is presented to a graduate student in their final year of residency, highlighting their contributions to their programs and fields of study.
Dr. Victoria Woo, clinical professor and director of pathology and advanced education program, said Lee is one of the brightest residents she’s mentored.
“She has enriched our department in countless ways with her unparalleled enthusiasm, selflessness and competence,” said Woo, in her nomination of Lee for the research award. “Dr. Lee is also an excellent mentor and role model to her fellow residents and students. … I believe Dr. Lee embodies the very best of what our profession has to offer —intellect, professionalism, work ethic and compassion. I firmly believe she epitomizes the characteristics of an exemplary graduate student.”
Lee said it was Texas A&M School of Dentistry’s sense of community that influenced her decision to join the graduate program here. She received her DDS from the University of Tennessee HSC College of Dentistry, growing up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. After graduation, she worked for three years in Alabama before she decided to go back to school, interviewing with several before making her decision.
“It was the people that really set apart Texas A&M for me,” she said. “My mentors here have become like family. It’s going to be really tough leaving here. My co-residents have been wonderful, too. We’re really all just like family now.”
Lee said she’s wanted to be a dentist since she was 16 years old. Her mother worked for an oral surgeon and one of her aunts was a dental hygienist. Between her mom’s stories from work, and her aunt always “buying (her) the latest and greatest toothbrushes,” she was hooked. She didn’t know much about the specialty of oral pathology when she was in dental school, Lee said, and didn’t consider it as an option until she had more time to think her career through during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I knew I liked the topic in dental school, so I reached out to an old professor, who was a pathologist, and spent a week with him,” Lee said. “Shadowing and seeing the day-to-day experience of dentistry or whatever specialty you’re interested in is incredibly important. That time I spent with my mentor and actually seeing what he did, that’s what pushed me over the edge to know I was going into something I knew I wanted to do.”
Oral pathologists can wear many hats in their career field, Lee explained. They focus on diseases that impact the mouth, jaws, salivary glands and face with a common career path including academia and teaching, as well as diagnosing and treating diseases discovered through biopsies and clinical examinations.
She said winning the Shafer Award was especially meaningful to her because many of her mentors are past winners.
“It’s also named after Dr. [John] Wright’s mentor, Dr. Shafer,” she said. “The award was something that I worked really hard for and has a lot of special meaning to me.”
Lee was presented the Clinical Graduate Research Award for the work she’s put into her master’s thesis, detailing her research work on a perceived increase in certain types of oral cancer, particularly a type that affects the gingiva–or gums. She has been analyzing the past decade of cases to determine that there is, in fact, an increase, and to better gain insight as to why.
“When we think of the gingiva, we don’t really think of it as being a high-risk site for developing cancer,” she said. “I’ve looked back in our files to see how many have been diagnosed, if there has there been an increase, and what about these patients is different … The other part of my study is going to be looking at what specific type of tissue the cancer is coming from.”
Lee is scheduled to defend her thesis on May 22 and will walk the stage May 25. She said she’s extremely grateful for the recognitions and thanked her mentors and co-residents for their support throughout her residency. In particular, she wanted to thank Dr. Woo and Dr. Wright, among many other faculty. After graduation, Lee plans to remain in Dallas and go into private practice.
“My time here has been incredible, and I’m so sad that it’s coming to an end,” Lee said. “I couldn’t have done it without the people that are here.”