Your name, program, dissertation title.

Name: Mayank Pahadia

Program: Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (Certificate with Master of Science in Dental Science Option)

Dissertation title: Effect of CALM^TM (Correction Algorithm on Latent Movement) on CBCT image quality

Please tell me about yourself, why did you pick UT Health San Antonio, and your program.

I was born and raised in Indore, India where I finished my BDS and residency in Oral Medicine and Radiology before moving to San Antonio. UT Health San Antonio’s dental school and oral radiology residency program is considered amongst the top rated programs in the country and I was fortunate to be a part of it!

What has been the highlight of graduate school so far? Have you won any awards or have there been any achievements you’ve been proud of?

The overall experience of residency has been wonderful. I learned a lot, not just academically but personal and professionally! The didactic training I received helped me pass the Part 1 of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology certification examination!

Please provide a few sentences summarizing your dissertation. What was the experience like for you?

My research was an in-vitro study about the technical effects on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) image quality using a motion artifact correction system. With evolving technologies and tools at our disposal, it is imperative we make the most of them and this research helped me understand how this artifact correction system works and clinically can have an impact on a very important yet understated issue, that is patient motion in dental CT imaging.

Why are you passionate about your research topic? How did you first become interested in it?

We have been working on dental CT machines since day one of our training and patient motion is a big problem that needs a solution. When I found out about this new software system, I became intrigued and definitely wanted to test it to see how it works and how it will impact the final image quality. It should help in our main purpose, that is optimal patient care.

What’s next?

I will be joining University of Florida College of Dentistry as a full time clinical assistant professor in the department of dental diagnostic sciences in July.

Any advice for your fellow graduate students?

Hang in there, sometimes it can get hard but just concentrate on putting your 100%, the results will come!