Grad student wins radiology award

Dr. Solaleh Shahmirzadi, the senior graduate student in the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology program, won the prestigious Howard R. Raper Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Award for 2021 from the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. The award was given at their annual meeting on Dec. 15.

The Howard R. Raper Award, sponsored by AAOMR and the Indiana University School of Dentistry, has been established to recognize a promising graduate student from programs in the United States and Canada who demonstrates academic achievement and an interest in oral and maxillofacial radiology and intends to pursue a career in academia. The monetary award is intended to help the student’s academic pursuits.

“What a proud moment for our program!” Dr. Matt Nair, interim associate dean of graduate programs and graduate program director, says. “Dr. Shahmirzadi is an outstanding student; her dedication and hard work has paid off.”

In 1909, Dr. Raper was the first educator to bring radiology into dental school clinics for regular daily use, convincing his dean of the importance of X-rays to the dental profession. Indiana University became the first dental school to install X-ray equipment. Dr. Raper was the first dental educator to hold the title of “Professor of Radiology,” and the first to teach radiology to dental students in a dental school curriculum.