FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For additional information, contact:
Michelle Lee, CPC
Executive Director
(800) 298-6727
[email protected]

July 15, 2021 (ATLANTA, GA) - OSAP is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2021 Dr. James A Cottone Award for Excellence in Investigative Research. This award is named for one of the founders of OSAP who exemplified the best in infection control and safety research.

The recipient of the 2021 Cottone Award is Sepehr Makhsous, PhD, for his Abstract: Evaluating Aerosol Persistence During Dental Procedures Using a Real-Time Network of Sensor. Eve Cuny, MS, who serves as the Chair of the OSAP Association Board of Directors, says "This abstract provides a new and superior way of measurement of aerosol. Further studies could use this method to build upon the study."

Dr. Makhsous is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle. He and his team investigate the integration of real-time aerosol sensors in a dental setting to help evaluate and improve mitigation strategies to eliminate aerosol transmission. He has been working closely with Dr. Schwedhelm, Dr. Huang, and Dr. Chan from UW School of Dentistry to evaluate a sensor network system. They are actively looking for collaborators (research, industrial, and military) to help them with understanding the current limitations in aerosolized viruses and pathogens during dental procedures. If this research direction interests you and you would like to learn more, please contact Dr. Makhsous at [email protected].

About OSAP

The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) is the only dental membership association solely focused on infection prevention and patient safety education. Our members include individual clinicians, group practices, educators, researchers, consultants, trainers, compliance directors, policymakers, and industry representatives who advocate for safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare. OSAP focuses on strategies to improve compliance with safe practices and on building a strong network of recognized infection control experts. OSAP offers an extensive online collection of resources, publications, FAQs, checklists, and toolkits that help dental professionals deliver the Safest Dental Visit™ possible for their patients. Plus, online and live courses help advance the level of knowledge and skill for every member of the dental team. For additional information, visit www.osap.org.

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