by Cindy Abole
Pulic Relations

It's not every day that a researcher's presentation is so outstanding that it brings an invitation to visit Japan.

That's what happened to Alfred C. Griffin III, a fifth-year Dental Scientist Training Program (DSTP) student, in mid-September. Earlier this year, Griffith was selected as a Young Investigator Award winner by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). He was invited to present his abstract research work on the regulation of vitamin D and its effects on cell signaling in bone at the group's 33rd annual meeting in San Diego, Sept. 16-20.

Griffin's presentation went so well that he and three other presenters received an invitation to present their research at the 6th Bone Research Seminar at the University of Tokyo Medical School in Japan next February. He will be accompanied by lecturers from Washington University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Dental Scientist Training Program student Alfred Griffin III, right, receives the ASBMR Award from Dr. Keith Kirkwood in San Diego.

Since his arrival on campus, the Virginia native has been expanding his interest in bone biology research and understanding of the body's inflammation process so that someday his work can be further applied to a greater comprehension of specific disorders in oral health and disease.

"I believe there is a need for dental clinicians who possess a strong knowledge of how bone is remodeled and how it responds to various inflammatory and mechanical stimuli," Griffin said.

Griffin, who previously presented with the ASBMR, gave an oral presentation titled, "MKP-1 in Canonical 1,25 (OH)2D3-signaling and Skeletal Homeostasis." His talk was among 1,500 scientific abstracts presented at this scientific meeting which gathered more than 5,000 researchers and clinicians from around the world.
Each year, the ASBMR Young Investigator Award is presented to 60 national scientists who submit top-ranking abstracts to its annual meeting. Recipients receive a $1,000 honorarium award and plaque. Griffin's invitation to lecture as an ASBMR Young Investigator is a distinction rarely bestowed to predoctoral students, according to DSTP program director Keith Kirkwood, DDS, Ph.D.

"This is an extraordinary honor for Alfred and our program. Basic science research is about understanding predictable findings and matching that with novel observations. Alfred's interests focus on understanding the biological processes of bone and what happens with gene regulation and its effect on surrounding tissues," Kirkwood said.

Griffin's start with the program in 2007 also timed well with the arrival of Kirkwood, who relocated to Charleston to manage Dental Medicine's research initiatives and serve as the institution's director for the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR), based in the dental school. Kirkwood, who is a periodontist and translational scientist, conducts research in chronic inflammation, chemotherapeutics and cell signaling. Since his arrival, he's promoted COHR's three research priorities — inflammation/cell signaling, cancer biology and tissue engineering — with translational research faculty and students.

Kirkwood, who is Griffin's research mentor, praised the dual-degree dental scientist trainee for his dedication and achievements so far in his basic science work and clinical investigation.

He hopes to continue his research and studies in a post-graduate orthodontics residency program just as his parents did. Griffin's mother is a general dentist and his father is an orthodontist.

"Having a mentor like Dr. Kirkwood who is someone well established in the field of inflammatory bone turnover was very fortuitous as our research goals were well aligned and resulted in me being the recipient of this extraordinary award and opportunity," Griffin said.

As Griffin has already completed much of his graduate research work, he will now turn to animal research to validate his laboratory observations. He returned to the classroom to continue his clinical training and integrate learned research skills resuming the second-year, laboratory-based dental classes and curriculum.

Griffin is a 2006 graduate of the University of Virginia where he conducted orthopaedic surgery research. For two summers, he worked at the National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research molecular biology of bones and teeth section working with Marian Y. Young, Ph.D. With MUSC's DSTP, he worked a research rotation with the osteoclast biology lab with Sakamuri Reddy, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Pediatrics.

Griffin is a student representative of College of Dental Medicine's (CDM) research committee. He placed locally in the Perry V. Halushka MUSC Student Research Day and CDM Scholars Day competitions for his research work. He also was part of a team winning third place in the 2008 Clarion (Clinician Administrator Relationship Improvement Organization) Interprofessional Case Competition and an MUSC Presidential Scholar.