Student Research Group

Parisa Bayat
Elected Representative: Research Intensive Graduate programs

Parisa is originally from Zanjan, a small city in Iran in which she spent her whole life until she moved to Tehran to pursue her dream of becoming a dentist. She graduated in 2021 with a D.D.S degree and joined the University of Alberta in September 2023 as an MSc student in dentistry. She is fond of research as much as she loves clinical aspect of dentistry. So now, she is trying to acquire new skills to become a better researcher and find her way into academia. When not in ECHA, she is somewhere on campus listening to a minimal piano album whilst reading a book that she just borrowed from the library.

Michelle Bey
Elected Representative: Graduate Students’ Association Council Representative

Michelle obtained her DDS degree from Chile in 2021. She enjoyed working on her undergraduate thesis centered on studying the effects of binaural stimulation on pain perception, and decided to continue her studies focusing on research, joining the MSc in Dentistry program from the University of Alberta. Since she is always asking questions, she decided that she may as well learn to answer them properly, while experiencing new things in Canada.

Zanib Kiani
Elected Representative: Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Council Representative

Rojin Adabdokht
Elected Representative: Graduate Studies Committee Representative

Rojin was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, where she graduated from dental school in 2021. After one year of dental practice, she decided to pursue a research-intensive master's program here at the University of Alberta. Since she has always been fascinated by coding and statistics, she engaged in data science research. Currently, Rojin is developing different Artificial Intelligence models to assist both dental patients and dental staff in having a better experience in the clinic.

Karla Carpio

Karla is originally from Peru, where she completed her DDS and worked as a dentist in the community. She moved to Brazil, where she obtained a specialty degree in Orthodontics, MSc, and Ph.D. in Dental Science. She moved to Edmonton in 2022 to work as an Associate Researcher at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Alberta. Her research topic is the image analysis of patients with unilateral condylar hyperplasia evaluated through 3D reconstructions of CBCT images using artificial intelligence-based software tools. This project is being developed in joint work with research groups from Chile and Spain. She has experience analyzing microtomography of animals submitted to induced tooth movement and research involving genetic associations with craniofacial and dental phenotypes. She loves to be with her family, travel, and play sports in her spare time. 

Carlos Alberto Figueredo

Carlos was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he completed his D.D.S. degree. In 2018, he moved to Edmonton to pursue an M.Sc. in Oral Biology at the University of Alberta, which he defended in 2021. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Periodontology with the topic of intraoral ultrasonography. Whenever not working, you can find him playing volleyball, kickboxing, and, on the weekends, some video games. 

Nishant Kharidehal

Nishant was born and raised in India where he completed his undergraduate (BDS) degree. He went on to pursue Masters in the field of Orthodontics from India and is the Member of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. After working in the Middle East for a few years, he migrated to Canada, where he obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research. In 2023 he joined the University of Alberta in the DDS program. He is excited to get involved with research taking place at the UofA School of Dentistry and to help his fellow classmates do the same.

Lina Al-Baghdadi

Lina completed her first undergraduate year at MacEwan University and gained admission to the University of Alberta's Bachelors of Dental Hygiene program (Class of 2026). As she immersed herself in oral biology and health sciences coursework, her passion for research deepened. She now volunteers as a research assistant, enthusiastically exploring the world of research and graduate school. Additionally, as the Dental Hygiene class representative, she's dedicated to assisting her peers in pursuing similar opportunities.

Yash Modha

Yash is a General Dentist from India. He got his bachelors degree in 2016 followed by General Dental practice for about 3 years before immigrating to Canada. He worked with private dental practice in Canada as Treatment coordinator first and then as Dental Assistant. After clearing the entrance test he got into DDS - Advance placement program at University of Alberta. During weekends, he also enjoys teaching at a coaching institute in Canada - which helps other foreign trained dental students to become Dentist in Canada.

Dr. Reid Friesen

Dr. Friesen is a board-certified Oral Medicine specialist. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta in 2014. During his dental education, he won several awards, including the Gold Medal in Dentistry for graduating first overall in his dental class. Subsequently, he embarked on his Oral Medicine Specialty training at the University of Alberta, and obtained a master’s degree in medical sciences in 2018. He is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta and is involved in training Oral Medicine graduate students, as well as undergraduate dental and dental hygiene students. Additionally, he is a fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC). His clinical practice focuses on the treatment of Orofacial Pain/Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction, Oral Mucosal Disease and Dental Sleep Medicine.