AADR Strides in Science

David Cruz Walma is a Medical Research Scholars Program Fellow in the lab of Kenneth Yamada in the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and an oncoming fourth year D.M.D. student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Dentistry. His research interests focus on using state-of-the-art cellular and structural biology approaches to discover novel molecular mechanisms regulating developmental health and disease of the head and neck. 

David has received several research awards and mentoring recognitions, including the 2018 William S. Kramer Award of Excellence, has held various student leadership positions and is passionate about mentoring. Via the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program, David will become a graduate research student at the University of Oxford, England in 2019 under the dual-mentorship of Alex Bullock and Kenneth Yamada.