Category: Pre-Dental (Page 2 of 4)

Summer is a slow time in many industries but not in the world of health professions advising. Medical school tends to get most of the attention, but we wanted to highlight some of the many resources that the American Dental Education Association is putting out.

• Whether you’re a future or current applicant, consider subscribing to the ADEA GoDental Newsletter. Topics can range from the importance of internships and shadowing to how to make yourself a competitive applicant.
• Also check out the Dental Blogs. The six blogs have different categories of authors, from admissions officers to practitioners, to cover every facet of preparing for a dental career.
• Current applicants can benefit from this video on Making Your Application Stand Out

We wish you the best of luck on your applications and a great summer!

The SUNY Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine is hosting the Discover Dental School (DDS) Summer Scholars Program for students interested in the field of Dentistry. This is a weeklong program, from August 7-August 12, 2016, where students are exposed to every aspect of dentistry including all specialties so that students truly understand what dental school is like.

They have begun accepting applications to the program. Their website further explains the program and also contains the application. Upon request, the program director, Dr. Nasti, is available to take calls from prospective students. They can also arrange for Skype sessions.

Registration is now open for ADEA GoDental’s free webinar, Tips, Myths and the Big Picture: Advice from Dental School Admissions Officers. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, February 9, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. ET. Admissions officers from UCSF, East Carolina University, and Ohio State will discuss topics such as holistic admissions, tips for finding the right fit, and common myths about applying to dental school.

Each year we hold First-Year and Sophomore meetings for pre-health students. The highlight is always the panel of seniors who have made the most of their Tufts education as they prepare for their chosen health professions. Last week, we met Francis Appeadu-Mensah.

This week, we hear how Ziggy Vrana has spent his four years on the hill. He is a biology major from Kecskemet, Hungary.

ZIGGY VRANA ON…

Studying abroad

I did not study abroad because I did not want to miss any time at Tufts!

Extracurricular involvement at Tufts

I have served as a biology laboratory teaching assistant for Bio 13 and 14 labs. As a TA, I assist students with experiments, demonstrate proper laboratory techniques, give mini lectures, and facilitate group discussion.

I am also a member of the undergraduate chapter of ASBMB (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), which we founded at Tufts last year. Our mission is to forge a science community interested in conducting research in chemistry and biology. We collaborate with other health related clubs to promote research to underclassmen and high school students in the Boston area. We also organize journal clubs, community engagement (Kids Day, Community Day) and career development events, and guest lectures on campus.

I have conducted research in the Miczek Laboratory on campus. As a research assistant, I examined the effects of ethanol and anxiolytic drugs mediated through different GABAA receptor subtypes in B6 and D2 mice.

As part of the Tufts Premedical Society Mentorship Program, I am a predental mentor. We counsel mentees on course schedule, standardized testing, time management, and extracurricular activities. We also attend predental events together.

I am also a member of the Predental Society, which is a great resource if you want to learn more about volunteering opportunities and/or attend predental events together. It’s also a great place to meet Tufts dental students and fellow predental students.

I played Varsity Basketball for a year at Tufts. Now I am on a club basketball team.

Gaining health-related experience

I have volunteered at Sharewood since my freshman year. We get to triage patients, take their vital signs, discuss services, enter their data, and shadow dentists and dental students. Also, I have attended a few academic workshops with Tufts medical and dental students that I found very informative and engaging.

I have worked in Edouard Vannier’s laboratory in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Tufts Medical Center. We determined that a novel polymorphic gene was a determinant of host resistance to B. microti parasitemia, which was really exciting!

Most recently, I have conducted research in the Yelick Laboratory in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences. Our main objective is to bioengineer functional teeth from dental mesenchymal and epithelial stem cells.

I have spent a lot of time shadowing in multiple dental offices in the Boston area as well as in Hungary.

What’s in his future

I am planning to go to dental school next year. After dental school, I might specialize or go into some form of group practice.

Ziggy Vrana, ’16