International Conference on Stem Cell and Cancer Therapy

 Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, SIMATS, Chennai has organised an International Conference on Stem Cell and Cancer Therapy (ICSC-2K19) on July 5th 2019. Dr. Moorthy P. Ponnusamy, Associate Professor from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA gave a talk on “Maintenance of stem cell and cancer stem cells” . He has emphasised that, Metastatic cancer cells generally cannot be eradicated using traditional surgical or chemoradiotherapeutic strategies, and disease recurrence is extremely common following treatment. On the other hand, therapies employing stem cells are showing increasing promise in the treatment of cancer. Stem cells can function as novel delivery platforms by homing to and targeting both primary and metastatic tumor foci. Dr. D. Ezhilarasan , Assisatant Professor from the Dept. of Pharmacology , Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, SIMATS, Chennai has delivered a talk on Mesanchymal Stem cells for Cancer therapy . Metastatic Breast Cancer and Novel Therapeutics  was delivered by  Dr. Murali Anbalagan, Assistant Professor from the Department of Structural & Cellular Biology, Director, Pre-clinical small animal Imaging Facility, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA. A total of 180  delegates have participated  from various Institutions and 42 delegates , presented e-poster and  four e-posters were awarded for best posters . The TN DCI has provided 3 credit points ( 265/19) for this international conference.

Salivary Gland Symposium- Live Demonstration

Salivary gland symposium was a speciality oriented conference. Faciomaxillary surgeons and Budding post graduates attended the program with great enthusiasm. The special Invitee for the program was Dr.Andrew Edwards,Dean ,Royal college of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He is also the director of dental examination, responsible for conducting the prestigious MFDS and MOMSRCPSG degrees outride UK. The

participants had the opportunity to witness a live surgical Demonstration of a tumor removal in one of the salivary glands of the cheek.Both events were well appreciated by the participants.

Digital Workflow in Implant Dentistry- Saveetha tessellation center

3 Day Workshop on Digital Workflow in Implant Dentistry Saveetha tessellation center with the support and guidance by the department of implantology conducted a 3day workshop on digital workflow in implant dentistry. The speaker for the even was Dr.Druthil Bhelur a U.S trained prosthodontist who did his post doctoral masters nd certificate in prosthodontics at Baylor college of dentistry in Dallas. During his residency he has been trained in multiple softwares used for dental prosthesis designing and treatment planning. 

The event took place as a series of lecture and demonstration in the 3shape software. Staffs, Postgraduates and fellows of department of prosthodontics and implantology attended the programme. First day of the event focused on introduction to digital dentistry and the basics of implant softwares. Second day started with a demonstration on treatment planning and stent designing in the 3 shape software and followed by a series of case discussions. The third day started with a series of case discussion on smile designing and implant supported prosthesis followed by  demonstration on designing customised abutments. The workshop was 

Redefining Dental Public Health For Future

The department of Public health dentistry,  Saveetha Dental College in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa had organized a certificate course on “Redefining Dental Public Health for future”  for students and private practitioners. The five day program was scheduled between 10th and 14th of June 2019. An international speaker, Dr. Shenuka Singh from the South African University along with the faculty team from the department conducted a series of interactive lecture sessions on the first four days. Oral Health inequality, health information systems, integration, Oral health policy framing were the core topics for discussion. Other topics like ethics and its application in research were of use for the undergraduate and postgraduate students. Last day of the program included panel discussion and guest lectures by speakers from national institutions. Dr.Prabhu, Reader from ASAN Dental College, Chengalpattu delivered a lecture on “Scope of Dental Public Health in India”, followed by Dr.Rajkumar, Reader from SRMC, Chennai enlightened the audience on Past present and future of Dental Public Health. 

“Primary Cell Culture Techniques” - Workshop

Aiming to provide intense knowledge in the topic primary cell culture techniques at Dental Research Cell - Biomedical Research Unit and Lab Animal Centre, Saveetha Dental College, SIMATS, Chennai Organized one day workshop on primary cell culture techniques. We extremely thank Dr. Deepa. G, Associate Dean of Research for her wonderful support throughout the workshop. Our workshop is mainly focused on primary cell culture techniques. The Keynote speech was given by Dr. D. Ezhilarasan. The hands-on training was conducted by Dr. Durairaj Sekar, elaborated on each and every step from the isolation of the tissue till the cells incubated inside the CO2 chamber, also gave a clear note on cell culture techniques from the basics of cell culture up to how the technique is involved in different stages of culture technique. During the practical session students and faculties explored and showed their immense interest to learn how to handle the cells and culture them individually, finally they observed the cells under the inverted microscope. In the group discussion session students were very open to ask questions got clarified with their doubts, they understood the importance of the workshop and gained ideas how it will help them in their future research. Dr. Padmaraj Veterinarian shared his experience and knowledge on cell culture techniques.

M.Orth Part 2 Examination

The department of Orthodontics successfully conducted the M. Ortho part 2 examinations in collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow. The exam was taken by 37 candidates and was examined by a panel of 12 examiners from the Royal college of Physicians and Surgeons Glasgow and England. The exam was conducted for three days from 24-06-2019 to 26-06-2019. The examiners appreciated and thanked the management and the faculty for the excellent organization and administration of the examination.

 They were also amazed at the infrastructure of the college and appreciated the research activities being conducted at Saveetha Dental College.

LASER ESTHETICS

A one day CDE programme on “LASER ESTHETICS” with 4 TNDC credit points was conducted by the Department of Aesthetic dentistry in association with ESCD and BIOLASE on 21st June 2019.  Dr. Vidhya Hari Iyer had delivered the lecture about laser physics and the various application of lasers in enhancing dental aesthetics . The lecture was followed by a live demo on patients using hard and soft tissue lasers for various esthetic procedures like crown lengthening, depigmentation and frenectomy. The programme was well received by the audiences who had attended the lecture. There were around 70 participants from Saveetha and other outside dental colleges.

2nd International Conference on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Department of Biochemistry organised 2nd International Conference on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on June 22nd 2019 at Saveetha Dental College. The keynote speakers for the conference were Dr. Ullas Mony, Scientist, Molecular Medicine, Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. Elumalai Perumal, Scientist, Catholic University, South Korea. The students were exposed to core research updates on hematopoietic stem cells and single cell RNA sequencing. The participants enthusiastically presented eposters and won many awards.

International Yoga Day Celebration

Yoga is a way of living that aims towards a healthy mind in a healthy body. It is a practice which control persons mind, body and soul.  The International day of yoga aims to create awareness worldwide about the benefits of practicing yoga.

International yoga day was celebrated on 21st June 2019 at Saveetha Dental College and Hospital. Many students and staff took part in the celebration and practiced yoga. Dr. A.S selvam, Assistant Professor, SSL thought different ASANAS and explained their importance in our daily life. All the participants performed the yoga asanas as per the instruction.

MICROSCOPIC ENDODONTIC TRAININGS

Use of microscopes in endodontics plays an important role in success of treatment. Microscopic endodontic trainings in saveetha, helps the participants get hands on training using carl zeiss microscopes and protaper systems for performing root canal treatment. All the participants gets the opportunity to work on live patients under microscopes and have an individual dental assistant during the course. This training helps the participants practice world class microscopic endodontics with every sophisticated equipment available.

Maxillofacial Esthetique- Interactive lecture series and Live surgical demo

Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery organised a CDE programme on              Maxillofacial Esthetique comprising of Lecture series and Live Surgical Demonstration on the 13th and 14th of June 2019. The event was inaugurated by our Dr. Deepak Nallaswamy, Director of Academics,                                             Dr. N. D. Jayakumar, Dean of Faculty, Dr Sheeja Varghese, Dean, and the invited speakers of the event. The programme had an overwhelming response of 186 registrations from various dental colleges, general practitioners and colleagues from medical and dental specialities . Speakers of the event included specialist from Dermatology, Plastic surgery and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery.

 The first day consisted of lecture series on Facial Aesthetics in Oral and MaxilloFacial Surgery by Dr. Madhulaxmi. M, Basic science of skin & LASER in facial aesthetics by Dr. Ajay Rana MD Cosmetic Dermatologist and Founder ILAMED, Facial Scar management by Dr. Somesh Balakrishnan Plastic Surgeon Right Hospitals, Botox and Dermal fillers by Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Plastic Surgeon SIMS Hospital, Hair transplant by Dr. U. Rasheedha Begum Plastic Surgeon KMC. Following multiple informative lecture series, live surgical demonstration of scar revision using LASER and facial rejuvenation using LASER was broadcasted to the audience, which participants found to be unique and extremely interesting.

 The second day comprised of Live surgical demonstration on hair transplant for moustache defect in a previously operated cleft patient . Program started with a lecture and clinical discussion on hair transplant, followed by the live surgical demonstration. The participants were extremely happy in having gained knowledge and many appreciated the depth of details in relay of the program. On the whole, the programme was a potpourri of information on maxillofacial aesthetics.

Redifining dental Public health for Future

We the department of Public health dentistry at saveetha dental college has organised a certificate course on redefining dental public health for future from 10th -14th June 2019. We had a international speaker from South Africa working as associate professor in University of UKZN and talked about oral health inequality, oral health information systems, international health care delivery, redefining manpower in health care delivery, health policy in globalising the world, oral health policy framing, code of ethics and finally panel discussion on students  challenges related to ethics and research.  We also had speakers Dr. Rajkumar, reader, dept. of Public health dentistry at SRIHER university, who talked about past present and future of DPH. Dr. Prabhu also a reader, dept. of Public health dentistry atAsan Memorial Dental College gave a lecture on scope of DPH in India and at the global level. The program was a grand success and we than all those who helped us in organising and conducting this credit course.

“Molecular detection of endodontic pathogens”

The hands on workshop started with the guest lecture delivered by Dr.J.Vijayashree Priyadharsini on “Molecular detection of endodontic pathogens”. The lecture focused on methods which can be used for pathogen identification using 16s RNA typing and quantification using real time quantitative PCR. The training session was conducted by Dr.A.Paramasivam. Dr.Vijayashree, demonstrated the isolation of genomic DNA from bacteria. This was followed by in vitro amplification of gene of interest using conventional PCR, where the students were taught to perform PCR reaction on their own. The amplicons were further electrophoresed using agarose gel electrophoresis technique and the results were visualised on a UV transilluminator system. Quantification of the gene of interest was also performed using real time quantitative PCR. Students were enthusiastic and interacted well with the researchers. Dr.R.Sandhya, Reader, Department of Endodontics, Dr.A.Padmaraj, Veterinarian, BRULAC and Dr.Durairaj.S participated in the workshop.

13th Convocation, Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Sciences

The 13th Convocation of Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences was held on 3rd June 2019 at the MM CONVENTION CENTRE , Saveetha Dental College,Chennai. The proceeding began with the auspicious Poornakumbam welcome consisting of 31 kalasams which signify the number of years of the initiation of the institution . The academic Procession followed consisting of the Honorable Governor, Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Directors, Deans of the various institutions and Board members.The function was presided by the Chancellor of Saveetha University, Dr.N.M.Veeraiyan and the chief guest was His Excellency Honourable Governor Thiru Banwarilal Purohit. The Convocation was declared open by the Honorable Chancellor.The welcome address was given by the Vice Chancellor Dr.Rakesh Kumar, who briefed about the tremendous achievements and awards procured by the various institutions of the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences.The function proceeded with the felicitation of the Honorable Governor followed by the Honoris Causa D.Sc degree presentation to three eminent personalities , Dr.Palani G Periasamy, Chairman -PGP Group of Institutions, Shri.R.Gandhi , Senior Advocate-Madras High Court and Dr.Mayilvahanan Natrajan, Former Vice Chance - Tamilnadu Dr.MGR Medical University who have contributed enormously in their individual fields of Education, Law and Medicine.The advisor Dr.R.Rajagopal introduced the Honoris Causa awardees and the awards were presented by the Honorable Governor and Chancellor.The best out going student awards and special endowment  medals for subject toppers were announced by the Registrar  Dr.Thiyagarajan and awarded to the students of Saveetha Medical College, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha College of Nursing and Saveetha College of Physiotherapy by the Governor and Chancellor. PhD was awarded to 23 students.The Honorable Governor addressed the gathering following the award presentation and the speech was well received and applauded.The Convocation continued with the presentation of degrees to 623 students including BDS, MBBS, MDS, MD, MS, MSc(Nursing), MSc(Medical) ,Bsc (Nursing), PBBSc( Nursing), MLT, BSc (DT), BSc (MLT,MIT,TCM)  BPT and MPT by the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor.The function ended with the National anthem by the band,  followed by cultural programme and dinner was served to all the parents, students and faculty in a grand manner with a special stage set in the open air.



Anti Tobacco Day or World No Tobacco Day Celebrations 2019

Department of Oral Medicine& radiology, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha University, Chennai, celebrated “World No-Tobacco Day,” with enthusiastic participation from Faculty and Students, on 31st May, 2019 under the guidance and support of our Honorable Chancellor – Dr. N.M. Veeraiyan, Honorable Director- Dr.DeepakNallasamyand Dean , Saveetha Dental College - Dr. SheejaVerghese

Anti-Tobacco Day or World No Tobacco Day is observed on 31 May worldwide every year. This annual event is organized by World Health Organization (WHO) to make people aware and educated them about the harmful effects of tobacco on health and causes several diseases like tooth decay, cancer, cardiovascular disease, staining of teeth etc.The theme of World No Tobacco Day or Anti-Tobacco Day 2019 is "Tobacco and Lung Health".

In accordance with WHO , Our department had organized a unique patient education program where several video campaigns ( short films ) based on the central theme of  tobacco ill effects and tobacco cessation were screened and this was followed by educating the patients . We educated the  people about the negative impact of tobacco on, it may also cause cancer. Dr.Mogit gupta,  in collaboration with the other staffs of Oral Medicine department and PGs who organized the education program were very happy with the response of the public and were encouraged to do further such activities in the future .

Live Surgical symposium of Oral Cancer Ablative and Reconstructive Surgery titled Surgical Tour of Experts- Season 1

We from Saveetha Oral Cancer Institute conducted a Live Surgical symposium of Oral Cancer Ablative and Reconstructive Surgery titled Surgical Tour of Experts- Season 1 in association with Apollo Cancer Institute and Tamilnadu Head and Neck Surgical Association on April 22, 2019.
The surgical procedure was relayed live from the OT to the Decennial hall participants wherein step by step surgical demonstration with minute attention to detail was done. The participants got to ask the surgeons to explain the surgical steps and concepts.

Three surgeons from Apollo Cancer Institute were invited for performing the surgery and each of the surgeons excellently obliged to the participants demands and cleared all their doubts throughout the length of the procedure.
Overall it was a successful programme with the participants clearly happy for being able to observe a complex Surgery.

Masterclass Series in CBCT Imaging - Exclusively for Undergraduates

The program was organised by the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology. The program was unique in the manner it was exclusively for the undergraduate students. The program was attended by 69 delegates which includes several dental colleges from the state. The program began with an introductory lecture by Dr.Vivek on the principles and introduction of CBCT. This was followed by a lecture on normal radio graphic anatomy by Dr.Jayanth. Next was the keynote lecture by Dr. Shalu Rai. As one of the pioneers in CBCT in India she shared her rich experience on the subject with an impressive presentation of cases. Her extensive lecture covered the applications of CBCT across all the specialities. She had specially emphasised on the medicolegal aspects of CBCT. The post lunch session was conducted by Dr. Jayanth and Dr.Vivek where they helped the participants through a hands on session in using the software. This program was well received by the undergraduates and this was yet another unique feature of this program where the undergraduate students program. The program was attended by a few postgraduate students too.

Edify- Department of Microbiology

Department of Microbiology presented the edify session for the year 2019 on 16th of May under the theme of “Best activity”. On behalf of the department, Dr.A.S.Smiline Girija presented the edify session and introduced the new program based activity called “CHIKKU” to the peer group. The program aided the students in learning the important facts in every lecture session followed by the material based and non-material based learning activities. CHIKKU was highly commended by the Director of Academics. 

Further, Dr.A.S.Smiline Girija was conferred with two awards viz., Most punctual faculty and Most workaholic faculty by the Vice Chancellor, SIMATS.