11 April 2025

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Future clinician-scientists selected for Harvard Presidential Scholarships

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Three Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) advanced graduate students are the newest recipients of Harvard Presidential Scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year. The full-tuition scholarship provides support to individuals pursuing Doctor of Medical Sciences or Master of Medical Sciences degrees who are committed to public service pathways leading to careers in academic dentistry or research. 

This year’s scholars are Drs. Ching-Shuan (Jolly) Huang, a DMSc candidate in Endodontics; Ben Swanson, an MMSc candidate in Periodontics; and David Cruz Walma, a DMSc candidate in Orthodontics. The talented recipients are pursuing a range of research interests including investigating the underlying causes of auto-immune diseases, studying the mechanism underlying developmental processes in tooth morphogenesis, and exploring therapeutics to support advances in molecular and personalized medicine.

“The Presidential Scholarship provides support that allows me to focus on becoming an exceptional periodontist, prepare competitive funding proposals, and focus my efforts on preparing to become a faculty member to mentor the next generation of budding clinicians and clinician scientists,” said Swanson who came to HSDM after earning his DDS and PhD degrees at the University of Michigan. Swanson is currently engaged in research in the Serhan Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“My research is focused on the role of bone stem cells in inflammation, to better understand how stem cells may directly participate in the resolution of inflammation, in order to develop new regenerative therapeutics,” he said. “My future goals crystallize around a career as an independent investigator, innovating in novel molecular therapeutics that support advances in molecular and personalized medicine for regenerative engineering in dental, oral, and craniofacial health.” 

Another scholar, David Cruz Walma, a first-year Orthodontics resident who completed his DMD degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry and a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) at the University of Oxford, is concurrently a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Professor David Mooney at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and an associate researcher in the lab of Professor Georg Holländer at the University of Oxford. His research involves a collaboration between the two labs.

“I study the processes of T cell development and negative selection in the thymus, focusing on how altered antigen presentation leads to auto-immune diseases such as Sjögren’s syndrome and type I diabetes mellitus,” Walma said. “I plan to pursue a career as a clinician-scientist and care for individuals as an orthodontist and continue my research on immune system development and the immune system’s impact on craniofacial growth, development, and homeostasis.”

Ching-Shuan (Jolly) Huang, another Presidential Scholar, also plans to pursue a career path as a clinician-scientist. Huang earned her DDS degree from Taipei Medical University and completed a two-year general practice residency at Taipei Medical University Hospital in Taiwan. A current Endodontics resident, she participated in several endodontics research projects before coming to HSDM and gained an interest in teaching other students.

“During my first year of general practice residency, I took on teaching assistantships in teaching didactic endodontics content and demonstrating root canal treatment procedures to fourth-year predoctoral students,” Huang said. “After graduation, I will continue to pursue a career path integrating research, teaching, and clinical practice specializing in endodontics.”

She currently conducts independent research in Dr. Wei Hsu’s lab, investigating non-classical β-catenin signaling in tooth morphogenesis and elucidating the mechanism underlying these developmental processes.

“This scholarship perfectly aligns with my aspiration and devotion to integrate research, teaching, clinical care, and public service,” Huang said. “By balancing these aspects, I aim to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical practice, using this knowledge gained to make a significant impact on future students and the broader patient community.”

The three scholars join six current HSDM advanced graduate students previously awarded Harvard Presidential Scholarships for the academic year.

Source: https://www.hsdm.harvard.edu/