Scholarship Spotlight: Four GSDM Periodontology Residents Awarded 2024 Scholarships
Four GSDM periodontology residents recently received scholarships to support their dental education. We spoke to these residents—Dr. Yueqi Gao PERIO 27, Dr. Klara Salib Rasla DMD 21 PERIO 25, Dr. Katherine Tran PERIO 25, and Dr. Elizabeth Sullivan PERIO 27—about what it means to them to secure these scholarships. Here’s what they had to say.
Dr. Yueqi Gao PERIO 27
Geistlich Scholarship Fund
Geistlich Pharma provides an annual scholarship award to one or more GSDM periodontology residents. Scholarship recipients are selected by Serge Dibart DMD 89, chair and professor of periodontology at GSDM.
Gao said it is an incredible and exciting honor to have been selected for the Geistlich Scholarship Fund.
“This scholarship is a recognition of my previous efforts and a kind of motivation to see what else is possible,” Gao said.
Gao, who has a special interest in regenerative surgical procedures, is using the scholarship funding to join the third and final year of a titanium mesh bone regeneration clinical research program. According to Gao, 3D printed titanium mesh has the potential to reduce surgical times, improve treatment efficiency, and lower patient anxiety and discomfort levels. Gao credited this scholarship as a door-opening opportunity to be hands-on in innovative research.
“I’m basically sitting on the front seat seeing the dental advancement,” Gao said. “If it works, then it’s going to [go] public and then everyone can use this more innovative technique, and patients can benefit from it. I’m seeing the new future and see how the future takes us.”
Dr. Klara Salib Rasla DMD 21 PERIO 25 and Dr. Katherine Tran PERIO 25
Morris P. Ruben Scholarship
The Morris P. Ruben Scholarship is an annual award given to a third-year GSDM periodontology resident who excels in clinical research.
Salib Rasla said she has learned a lot about Dr. Ruben’s impact on the periodontology department during her time at GSDM, and she had a goal to receive this scholarship from day one. Now, being one of the 2024 Morris P. Ruben Scholarship recipients seems unreal.
“It really means a lot to me to receive [this scholarship] from BU because BU is not just a school where I’m getting my degree from—BU is a home for me,” Salib Rasla said. “I have been here for five years now, and everyone from the professors to the sterilization team to security to maintenance, everyone here is a family.”
As for Tran, she said this scholarship was an excellent reminder of her strengths—and also increases her motivation to focus on improving in all areas.
“It’s nice to know that my hard work has resulted in something [positive,]” Tran said. “It was an honor to get it.”
Tran believes that the scholarship will be beneficial in her job application process in the upcoming year.
Tran said. “Going forward, it’s nice to have this kind of award under my belt to commemorate my time and efforts at my residency,” Tran said. “It’s definitely great to include on my curriculum vitae, but I think time will tell what other doors it unlocks for me.”
Dr. Elizabeth Sullivan PERIO 27
Dr. Oreste Zanni PERIO 76 Scholarship
The Dr. Oreste Zanni PERIO 76 Scholarship is an annual scholarship awarded to a GSDM periodontology resident.
Receiving the Dr. Oreste Zanni PERIO 76 Scholarship is a life-changing gift, Sullivan said. As she embarks on the rest of her residency, Sullivan is determined to use this scholarship as motivation to make a lasting impact in the field of periodontology—seeing her efforts now as a continuation of Dr. Zanni’s legacy.
“It is a deeply humbling and incredibly meaningful gift that motivates me to contribute to our profession and make a difference,” Sullivan said. “I accept it with great responsibility and pride and strive to achieve and uphold excellence throughout my journey, both during and after this program.”
The scholarship provides Sullivan with a financial safety net, she said, which will enable her to focus on her academic and clinical development. She expressed gratitude, viewing the scholarship as a validating recognition that she is on the right trajectory in her dental career.
“Things were not always easy for me, but I learned that your investment often matches your return,” Sullivan said. “I told myself for years that I would end up in Boston and in a periodontal program. In this case, it worked out better than I had ever hoped. I’m so grateful to be here with this reminder that I’m absolutely in the right place, at the right time.”
