Alexandria, Va., USA – The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) has announced that Adrien Hamedi-Sangsari, a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry, has been selected as the first recipient of the AADR Student Advocate of the Year Award. This new award was created by the AADR National Student Research Group (NSRG) and the AADR Government Affairs Committee to recognize a student for outstanding contributions in advocacy for oral health research.

“I am pleased that Adrien Hamedi-Sangsari was selected as the recipient of the AADR Student Advocate of the Year Award and I appreciate his tireless advocacy on behalf of dental, oral and craniofacial research,” said David Johnsen, chair of the AADR Government Affairs Committee. “His ability to rally students in support of federal funding for research is commendable and he is deserving of this award.” Hamedi-Sangsari is the president of the UCLA Student Research Group (SRG). Last year, as president-elect of the UCLA SRG, he encouraged UCLA students to respond to action alerts and participated in the 2013 AADR/ADEA Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. Most notably, during the August congressional recess, Hamedi-Sangsari took the initiative and met with congressmen from the California delegation, including Rep. Waxman (D), Rep. Bass (D) and Rep. Sherman (D). These meetings enabled him to discuss the groundbreaking research at UCLA and the importance of increasing funding for biomedical research.

As the recipient of the AADR Student Advocate of the Year Award, Hamedi-Sangsari will receive travel and a one night hotel accommodation for participation in the April 8, 2014 AADR/ADEA Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill program. More information about the 2014 AADR/ADEA Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill is available at www.aadronline.org/advocacyday.